Eriophorum virginicum

Last updated

Eriophorum virginicum
Eriophorum virginicum joshualincoln 2020-07-25.jpg
Morristown, Vermont, USA (July 25)
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Cyperaceae
Genus: Eriophorum
Species:
E. virginicum
Binomial name
Eriophorum virginicum
Synonyms [3]
Homotypic synonyms
    • Eriophoropsis virginica(L.) Palla
    • Scirpus virginicus(L.) T.Koyama
Heterotypic synonyms
    • Eriophorum confertissimumAlph.Wood
    • Eriophorum virginianumHoutt.
    • Eriophorum virginicum var. albumA.Gray
    • Eriophorum virginicum f. album(A.Gray) Wiegand
    • Eriophorum virginicum var. confertissimum(Alph.Wood) Alph.Wood
    • Eriophorum virginicum var. gracileTorr.

Eriophorum virginicum, the tawny cottongrass, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae. It is native to eastern North America but was introduced into British Columbia in western Canada. It is most common in eastern Canada, New England, and the Great Lakes region. It is the only species of Eriophorum in North America that occurs in the southeastern United States, where it is uncommon. The common name refers to the tawny color of its fruiting head. Despite the name, it is a sedge, not a grass, and it is sometimes called tawny cottonsedge to emphasize this fact.

Contents

Description

Eriophorum virginicum is a perennial herbaceous plant that forms colonies by means of long-creeping rhizomes. Each stem (or culm) in the colony grows to 120 cm (47 in) long. The terminal inflorescence comprises 2–10 spikelets, each on a peduncle between 2 and 10 mm long. The inflorescence is subtended by 2–5 leaf-like bracts, the longest of which is 4 to 12 cm (2 to 5 in) in length. Individual flowers have 10 or more perianth bristles that are brown in color (at least at the base). Rarely the bristles are entirely white. [4] [5]

Typically the fruiting head is densely packed, which tends to obscure the spikelets. Despite this, Eriophorum virginicum is rather easy to distinguish from other cottongrasses due to its late fruiting time and distinctive color. [6]

Taxonomy

Eriophorum virginicum was first described by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1753. [2] Linnaeus based his diagnosis on a specimen collected in Virginia, [7] hence the specific epithet virginicum and the common name Virginia cottongrass.

Eriophorum virginicum was segregated to a new genus Eriophoropsis by the Austrian botanist and mycologist Eduard Palla in 1896. [8] Later, in 1958, it was segregated to the existing genus ScirpusTourn. ex L. by the Japanese botanist and collector Tetsuo Michael Koyama. [9] As of July 2024, both Eriophoropsis virginica(L.) Palla and Scirpus virginicus(L.) T.Koyama are considered to be synonyms for Eriophorum virginicumL. [10] [11]

Eriophorum virginicum var. album was described by the American botanist Asa Gray in 1876. [12] Variety album has white (not brown) bristles. In 1924, the American botanist Karl McKay Wiegand reduced the variety to forma. [13] Both names are considered to be synonyms for Eriophorum virginicumL.

Eriophorum virginicum, together with Eriophorum tenellum and Eriophorum gracile , form a strongly supported clade that is sister to the rest of the genus. The clade is distinguished by having glumes (scales at the base of each flower in a spikelet) with many prominent nerves whereas the glumes of the remaining species possess a single prominent midnerve. [14]

Distribution and habitat

Eriophorum virginicum is native to eastern North America, from Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada to South Carolina in the United States (U.S.), ranging as far west as Minnesota. [3] It was introduced in British Columbia in western Canada. [15] In the U.S., it is most common in New England and the Great Lakes region. [16] It is the only species of Eriophorum in North America that occurs in the southeastern U.S., [17] where it is least common.

Eriophorum virginicum is an obligate wetland (OBL) species. [18] [19] In New England, it prefers bogs, acidic fens, and wet meadows. [20] [21]

Ecology

Eriophorum virginicum is a perennial flowering plant that flowers in the early summer. After the flowers are pollinated, cotton-like fruiting heads develop between mid-summer and early autumn. [4] In Minnesota, for example, fruiting occurs from July to September. [22]

Seasonal growth stages

Related Research Articles

<i>Trillium erectum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium erectum, the red trillium, also known as wake robin, purple trillium, bethroot, or stinking benjamin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. The plant takes its common name "wake robin" by analogy with the European robin, which has a red breast heralding spring. Likewise Trillium erectum is a spring ephemeral plant whose life-cycle is synchronized with that of the forests in which it lives. It is native to the eastern United States and eastern Canada from northern Georgia to Quebec and New Brunswick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyperaceae</span> Family of flowering plants known as sedges

The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large; botanists have described some 5,500 known species in about 90 genera – the largest being the "true sedges", with over 2,000 species.

<i>Eriophorum angustifolium</i> Species of flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae

Eriophorum angustifolium, commonly known as common cottongrass or common cottonsedge, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. Native to North America, North Asia, and Europe, it grows on peat or acidic soils, in open wetland, heath or moorland. It begins to flower in April or May and, after fertilisation in early summer, the small, unremarkable brown and green flowers develop distinctive white bristle-like seed-heads that resemble tufts of cotton; combined with its ecological suitability to bog, these characteristics give rise to the plant's alternative name, bog cotton.

<i>Eriophorum</i> Genus of flowering plants in the sedge family Cyperaceae

Eriophorum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cyperaceae, the sedge family. They are found in the cool temperate, alpine, and Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, primarily in the middle latitudes of North America, Europe, and Asia.

<i>Heracleum sphondylium</i> Species of flowering plant in the celery family Apiaceae

Heracleum sphondylium, commonly known as hogweed or common hogweed, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, which includes fennel, cow parsley, ground elder and giant hogweed. It is native to most of Europe, western Asia and northern Africa, but is introduced in North America and elsewhere. Other common names include cow parsnip. The flowers provide a great deal of nectar for pollinators.

<i>Tiarella</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Saxifragaceae

Tiarella, the foamflowers, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Saxifragaceae. The generic name Tiarella means "little turban", which suggests the shape of the seed capsules. Worldwide there are seven species, one each in eastern Asia and western North America, plus five species in eastern North America. As of October 2022, the taxonomy of Tiarella in eastern North America is in flux.

<i>Trillium cernuum</i> Species of flowering plant

Trillium cernuum is a species of flowering plant in the bunchflower family Melanthiaceae. The specific epithet cernuum means "drooping, curving forwards, facing downwards", a distinctive habit of its flower. It is commonly called nodding trillium or nodding wakerobin since the flower is invariably found nodding beneath the leaves. It is sometimes referred to as the northern nodding trillium to distinguish from Trillium rugelii, a similar nodding species native to the southern Appalachian Mountains. It is also called the whip-poor-will flower since presumably its bloom coincides with the spring arrival of the migrating bird with the same name.

<i>Tiarella trifoliata</i> Species of flowering plant

Tiarella trifoliata, the three-leaf foamflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Saxifragaceae. The specific name trifoliata means "having three leaflets", a characteristic of two of the three recognized varieties. Also known as the laceflower or sugar-scoop, the species is found in shaded, moist woods in western North America.

<i>Eriophorum gracile</i> Species of flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae

Eriophorum gracile is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is known by the common name slender cottongrass, or slender cottonsedge. Eriophorum gracile is a plant with circumboreal distribution, extending south into mountain ranges of the Northern Hemisphere. It grows in wet areas such as bogs.

<i>Desmodium paniculatum</i> Species of legume

Desmodium paniculatum, the panicled-leaf ticktrefoil, narrow-leaf tick-trefoil or panicled tickclover, is a perennial herb in the pea family, Fabaceae. Belonging to a nearly cosmopolitan genus, the panicled-leaf ticktrefoil is a common native to Eastern North America, ranging from Quebec to Florida and as far West as Texas, Nebraska, and Ontario. The sticky loment can be found in disturbed areas that receive plenty of light, such as roadsides, parks, and abandoned fields.

<i>Eriophorum viridicarinatum</i> Species of flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae

Eriophorum viridicarinatum is a species of sedge known by the common names thinleaf cottonsedge, green-keeled cottongrass, and bog cottongrass. It is native to Canada and the United States.

<i>Eriophorum scheuchzeri</i> Species of flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae

Eriophorum scheuchzeri is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names Scheuchzer's cottongrass and white cottongrass. It has an arctic circumpolar and circumboreal distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. It can be found in Alaska, across Canada, in the Arctic islands, Greenland, Iceland, and across Eurasia. Disjunct occurrences exist in the Rocky Mountains, in the high mountains of southern Europe and on Mount Daisetsu in Japan and some other Asian mountains.

<i>Cardamine angustata</i> Species of flowering plant

Cardamine angustata is a perennial forb native to the eastern United States, that produces white to pink or purple flowers in early spring.

<i>Symphyotrichum oolentangiense</i> Species of flowering plant in family Asteraceae

Symphyotrichum oolentangiense, commonly known as skyblue aster and azure aster, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to eastern North America.

<i>Trichophorum cespitosum</i> Species of flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae

Trichophorum cespitosum, commonly known as deergrass or tufted bulrush, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family. It was originally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1753 as Scirpus cespitosus, but was transferred to the genus Trichophorum by the Swedish botanist Carl Johan Hartman in 1849, becoming Trichophorum cespitosum.

<i>Hypericum virginicum</i> Species of flowering plant in the St Johns wort family Hypericaceae

Hypericum virginicum, the marsh St. Johns-wort or Virginia marsh St. Johnswort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. It is native to the central and eastern United States and eastern Canada.

<i>Symphyotrichum patens</i> Species of flowering plant in family Asteraceae

Symphyotrichum patens, commonly known as late purple aster or spreading aster, is a perennial, herbaceous plant found in the eastern United States.

<i>Eriophorum latifolium</i> Species of grass-like plant

Eriophorum latifolium, commonly known as broad-leaved bog-cotton and broad leaved cotton grass is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Cyperaceae.

<i>Heracleum sibiricum</i> Species of flowering plant

Heracleum sibiricum is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It is native to Europe and western Asia, ranging from France and Italy to western Siberia and Mongolia.

Eriophorum tenellum is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae.

References

  1. "Eriophorum virginicum". NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Eriophorum virginicumL.". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens . Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  3. 1 2 "Eriophorum virginicumL.". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  4. 1 2 Ball, Peter W.; Wujek, Daniel E. (2002). "Eriophorum virginicum". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 23. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 6 July 2024 via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  5. Gilman (2015), pp. 134–135.
  6. Reznicek, A. A.; Voss, E. G.; Walters, B. S. (February 2011). "Eriophorum". Michigan Flora Online. University of Michigan. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  7. Linnaeus (1753), pp. 52–53.
  8. "Eriophoropsis virginica(L.) Palla". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens . Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  9. "Scirpus virginicus(L.) T.Koyama". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens . Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  10. "Eriophoropsis virginica(L.) Palla". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  11. "Scirpus virginicus(L.) T.Koyama". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  12. "Eriophorum virginicum var. albumA.Gray". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens . Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  13. "Eriophorum virginicum f. album(A.Gray) Wiegand". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens . Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  14. Léveillé-Bourret (2018), pp. 28, 35–36, 42.
  15. "Eriophorum virginicum". State-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  16. "Eriophorum virginicum". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  17. "Eriophorum". State-level distribution maps from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  18. Lichvar et al. (2016).
  19. "Eriophorum virginicumL.". National Wetland Plant List. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  20. Haines (2011), pp. 161–162.
  21. "Eriophorum virginicum — tawny cottonsedge". Go Botany. Native Plant Trust. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  22. "Eriophorum virginicum (Tawny Cottongrass)". Minnesota Wildflowers. Retrieved 6 July 2024.

Bibliography