Scirpus cyperinus

Last updated

Scirpus cyperinus
Scirpus cyperinus UMFS.jpg
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: Scirpus
Species:
S. cyperinus
Binomial name
Scirpus cyperinus

Scirpus cyperinus, commonly known as woolgrass, is an emergent wetland herb that is native to the eastern United States and eastern Canada. [2] Other common names include cottongrass bulrush [1] and brown woolly sedge. [3]

Woolgrass is not a true grass, despite its common name; it is a type of bulrush (Scirpus). Bulrushes furthermore are not true rushes; they are types of sedges. This sedge is very variable in appearance. In general, it produces short, tough rhizomes and grows in dense clumps. The fertile stems grow upright. There are five to ten leaves per stem. They are up to 80 centimeters long by 1 centimeter wide. The proximal ones have green or reddish sheaths. The inflorescence has upright or spreading branches bearing cymes of up to 15 spikelets each. The spikelet is cylindrical or oval and measures up to 0.8 centimeters in length. It is covered in reddish, brownish, or black scales. The flowers have six long bristles each, making the inflorescence look woolly. [2]

This plant grows in many types of wet habitat, such as marshes and ponds. It can be found in disturbed habitat, such as ditches. [2]

This plant often hybridizes with its relatives Scirpus atrocinctus and S. pedicellatus . [2]

Native Americans used this plant for a number of purposes. The Ojibwa people used it to make bags and mats, and the Potawatomi people used it to stuff pillows. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Scirpus</i> Genus of flowering plants

Scirpus is a genus of grass-like species in the sedge family Cyperaceae many with the common names club-rush, wood club-rush or bulrush. They mostly inhabit wetlands and damp locations.

<i>Pyrrocoma lanceolata</i>

Pyrrocoma lanceolata is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name lanceleaf goldenweed. It is native to western North America from central Canada to northeastern California to Colorado, where it grows in many types of habitat, including disturbed places and areas with wet, alkali soils. It is a widespread and variable plant. It is a perennial herb growing one or more stems up to about half a meter long. The stems are decumbent or upright, reddish, usually somewhat hairy to quite woolly, and glandular toward the ends of the stems. The largest leaves are at the base of the plant, each measuring up to 30 centimeters in maximum length. They are generally lance-shaped with sawtoothed edges. The inflorescence bears several, up to 50, flower heads lined with reddish to green phyllaries. Each contains yellow disc florets and ray florets. The fruit is an achene up to a centimeter long including its pappus.

<i>Schoenoplectus americanus</i> Species of grass-like plant

Schoenoplectus americanus is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names chairmaker's bulrush and Olney's three-square bulrush. It is native to the Americas, where it is known from Alaska to Nova Scotia and all the way into southern South America; it is most common along the East and Gulf Coasts of the United States and in parts of the western states. It grows in many types of coastal and inland wetland habitat, as well as sagebrush, desert scrub, chaparral, and plains. This rhizomatous perennial herb easily exceeds two meters in height. The stiff stems are sharply three-angled and usually very concave between the edges. Each plant has three or fewer leaves which are short and narrow. The inflorescence is a small head of several spikelets which may be brown to bright orange, red, purplish, or pale and translucent. They have hairy edges. The fruit is a brown achene. The plant reproduces sexually by seed and colonies spread via vegetative reproduction, sprouting from the rhizomes.

Trichophorum clementis is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common name Yosemite bulrush. It is endemic to the Sierra Nevada of California, where it is known from high-elevation mountain meadows and streambanks.

<i>Scirpus congdonii</i> Species of grass-like plant

Scirpus congdonii is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common name Congdon's bulrush after noted Californian botanist J.W. Congdon. It is native to the mountains and plateaus of far northern California and adjacent sections of southern Oregon and western Nevada. It can be found in wetland habitat and other moist areas, such as mountain meadows and waterways. It is a perennial herb forming a loose or dense clump of erect stems growing up to half a meter tall, solitary stems sometimes occurring as well. The stems are three-angled and narrow at the middle. Sheathing leaves occur at the stem bases as well as higher up the stems. The inflorescence occurs at the end of the stem, with small additional ones growing from leaf axils. The inflorescence consists of several clusters of many spikelets wrapped at the bases in a leaflike bract.

Scirpus diffusus is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common name umbrella bulrush. It is endemic to California, where it can be found in several of the high mountain ranges from the Klamath Mountains to the Sierra Nevada. It grows in wetland habitat and other moist areas, such as mountain meadows. It is similar to Scirpus congdonii and was described from herbarium specimens once mislabeled as such. It is a perennial herb forming a clump of erect stems growing up to a meter tall, solitary stems sometimes occurring as well. The stems are three-angled and narrow at the middle. Sheathing leaves occur at the stem bases as well as higher up the stems. The inflorescence occurs at the end of the stem, with small additional ones growing from the uppermost leaf axial. The inflorescence consists of several clusters of many spikelets wrapped at the bases in a leaflike bract.

<i>Schoenoplectus heterochaetus</i> Species of grass-like plant

Schoenoplectus heterochaetus is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common name slender bulrush. It is native to North America, where it can be found in scattered locations in Canada and the United States.

Isolepis carinata is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common name keeled bulrush. It is native to North America, where it is mostly distributed around the southeastern United States; it can also be found on the California coast. It grows in many types of moist and wet habitat, including disturbed, cultivated, and landscaped areas. It is an annual herb producing clumps of slender, erect stems up to 25 centimeters tall. The inflorescence is a solitary spikelet just a few millimeters long, or a cluster of up to three spikelets. These are accompanied by a stiff bract which looks like an extension of the stem growing past the spikelets.

<i>Scirpus microcarpus</i> Species of grass-like plant

Scirpus microcarpus is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names panicled bulrush, smallfruit bulrush, and barberpole bulrush. It is native to North America, where it can be found throughout the northern and western regions, from Alaska across Canada to the northeastern United States, in most of the central and western states, and in Baja California. It grows in many types of moist and wet habitat. It is a perennial herb growing from a long rhizome system. The erect, three-angled stems often exceed one meter tall. Sheathing leaves occur at the stem bases as well as higher up the stems. The inflorescence is a panicle of many clusters of spikelets and leaflike bracts on long, thin branches. The fruit is a pale, smooth achene less than 2 millimeters long.

<i>Schoenoplectiella mucronata</i> Species of grass-like plant

Schoenoplectiella mucronata is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names bog bulrush, rough-seed bulrush, and ricefield bulrush. It is native to Eurasia, Africa and Australia. It grows in moist and wet terrestrial habitat, and in shallow water. It is a perennial herb growing from a short, hard rhizome. The erect, three-angled stems grow in dense clumps and can reach a metre tall. The leaves take the form of sheaths wrapped around the base of stem, but they generally do not have blades. The inflorescence is a headlike cluster of cone-shaped spikelets accompanied by an angled, stiff bract which may look like a continuation of the stem.

<i>Amphiscirpus</i> Genus of grass-like plants

Amphiscirpus is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the sedge family containing the single species Amphiscirpus nevadensis, which is known by the common name Nevada bulrush.

<i>Scirpus pendulus</i> Species of plant

Scirpus pendulus is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names pendulous bulrush, rufous bulrush, and nodding bulrush. It is native to North America, where it can be found throughout the eastern United States and Canada, through the American midwest, some areas of the western United States, and into Mexico. It is also known as an introduced species in Australia. It grows in many types of moist and wet habitat, including disturbed areas such as ditches, and sometimes in drier areas. It is a perennial herb growing from a short, thick rhizome system. The erect, three-angled stems grow singly or in tufts and clumps, easily reaching one meter tall. Sheathing leaves occur at the stem bases as well as higher up the stems, the blades reaching up to 40 centimeters. The inflorescence is a panicle of many clusters of spikelets which hang on long, thin branches, often nodding or drooping, especially as the fruit develops.

<i>Bolboschoenus robustus</i> Species of flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae

Bolboschoenus robustus is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family. It is known by many common names: saltmarsh bulrush, alkali bulrush, sturdy bulrush, seacoast bulrush, stout bulrush, three-cornered sedge or leafy three-cornered sedge, and seaside club-rush.

Schoenoplectiella saximontana is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common name Rocky Mountain bulrush. It is native to North America, where it is known from several areas scattered throughout Canada, the United States, and Mexico. It grows in moist and wet habitat or shallow water, including disturbed places. It is an annual herb producing tufts of very thin, erect stems which reach about 30 centimeters in maximum height. The leaves sheath the stems and have short, narrow blades. The inflorescence is a cluster of several spikelets accompanied by a long, stiff, stemlike bract.

<i>Isolepis setacea</i> Species of grass-like plant

Isolepis setacea is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names bristle club-rush and bristleleaf bulrush. It is native to Eurasia and Africa, and possibly Australasia. It can be found in other places, including some areas in North America, where it is an introduced species. It grows in many types of moist and wet habitat, often in coastal regions, and sometimes inland. It is a perennial herb which forms mats of very thin, grooved, erect or arching stems up to about 20 centimeters tall. The leaves sheath the stem bases and have short, flat, thick blades. The inflorescence is a solitary spikelet just a few millimeters long, or a cluster of up to three spikelets. These are accompanied by a stiff bract extending past the flowers.

<i>Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani</i> Species of grass-like plant

Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names softstem bulrush, grey club-rush, and great bulrush. It can be found throughout much of the world; it has been reported from every state in the United States, and from every province and territory in Canada except Nunavut. It grows in moist and wet habitat, and sometimes in shallow water.

<i>Scirpus ancistrochaetus</i> Species of grass-like plant

Scirpus ancistrochaetus is a rare species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names barbedbristle bulrush and northeastern bulrush. It is native to the northeastern United States from New Hampshire south to Virginia. It used to be found in Quebec but it is now thought to be extirpated there. It was also believed extirpated from the state of New York, but at least one population has been rediscovered in Steuben County in 2010. It is threatened by the loss and degradation of its wetland habitat. It is a federally listed endangered species.

<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 northern North America, where it occurs in Alaska and throughout much of Canada, its range extending into the northern contiguous United States. Its distribution is more patchy in the west but it is widespread in eastern Canada.

<i>Schoenoplectiella hallii</i> Species of grass-like plant

Schoenoplectiella hallii is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common name Hall's bulrush. It is native to the United States, where it has a disjunct distribution, occurring in widely spaced locations throughout the Midwest and East. It is a rare plant.

Scirpus longii is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common name Long's bulrush. It is native to eastern North America, where it is limited to the Atlantic coastal plain.

References

  1. 1 2 Scirpus cyperinus. NatureServe.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Peter W. Ball, A. A. Reznicek & David F. Murray (2002). "Scirpus cyperinus (Linnaeus) Kunth, Enum. Pl. 2: 170. 1837". Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae (in part): Cyperaceae. Flora of North America North of Mexico. Vol. 23. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-515207-4.
  3. Scirpus cyperinus. Washington Burke Museum.
  4. Scirpus cyperinus. University of Michigan Ethnobotany.