Scirpus cyperinus - (image 1 of 4)
Taxonomy
Family: Cyperaceae
Habitat
Marshy ground and moist flats. Bogs. Dry swamps.
Associates
On marshy ground with Asclepias incarnata, Bidens cernua, Bidens coronata, Cicuta bulbifera, Thelypteris palustris, Eleocharis obtusa, Eupatorium perfoliatum, Juncus effusus, Leersia oryzoides, Sagittaria latifolia, Scutellaria epilobifolia, Typha latifolia. On boggy ground with Calopogon tuberosus, Drosera intermedia, Osmunda regalis spectabilis, Pogonia ophioglossoides, Rubus hispidus, Spiraea tomentosa var. rosea.
Distribution
Newfoundland west to British Columbia, south FL to TX.
Morphology
Herbaceous perennial from a stout, tough rhizome, often more than 5' high. Cauline leaves more than 10. Principle involucral bracts spreading, foliaceous, 2 or more. Stems under 1 cm wide, round to bluntly triangular. Spikelets ovoid to cylindric, to 5mm long, in spreading tufts; perianth bristles kinked and curled, at least above the middle, typically much exceeding the achenes.
Notes
Flowers late June to mid September
Wetland indicator: Obligate
One of the easier members of this genus to identify in the fall, the drooping, woolly spikelets are quite distinct.
References
Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of
Northeastern United States
and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
Swink, F. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.
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Michael Hough © 2005 |