Eriophorum virginicum var. confertissimum (Alph.Wood) Alph.Wood
Eriophorum virginicum var. gracile Torr.
Eriophorum virginicum, the tawny cottongrass, is a
species of
flowering plant in the sedge
familyCyperaceae. It is native to eastern North America but was introduced in
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. Despite its name, it is a sedge, not a
grass, and it is sometimes called tawny cottonsedge to emphasize this fact.
Eriophorum virginicum was first described by the Swedish botanist
Carl Linnaeus in 1753.[2] Evidently Linnaeus based his
diagnosis on a
specimen collected in
Virginia,[5] hence the
specific epithetvirginicum 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.[6] Later, in 1958, it was segregated to the existing genus ScirpusTourn. ex L. by the Japanese botanist and collector
Tetsuo Michael Koyama.[7] As of July 2024[update], both Eriophoropsis virginica(L.) Palla and Scirpus virginicus(L.) T.Koyama are considered to be synonyms for Eriophorum virginicumL.[8][9]
Eriophorum virginicum var. album was described by the American botanist
Asa Gray in 1876.[10] Variety album has white (not coppery) bristles. In 1924, the American botanist
Karl McKay Wiegand reduced the variety to forma.[11] Both names are considered to be synonyms for Eriophorum virginicumL.
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.[12] In the U.S., it is most common in
New England and the
Great Lakes region.[13] It is the only species of Eriophorum in North America that occurs in the southeastern U.S.,[14] where it is least common.
Eriophorum virginicum is a
perennialflowering plant that flowers in the early summer. After the flowers are
pollinated, cotton-like
fruiting heads develop during mid-summer and early autumn.[19] In Minnesota, fruiting occurs from July to September.[20]
^"Eriophorum virginicum". State-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
^"Eriophorum virginicum". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
^"Eriophorum". State-level distribution maps from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
Gilman, Arthur V. (2015). New Flora of Vermont. Memoirs of The New York Botanical Garden, Volume 110. Bronx, New York, USA: The New York Botanical Garden Press.
ISBN978-0-89327-516-7.
Haines, Arthur (2011). New England Wild Flower Society's Flora Novae Angliae: A Manual for the Identification of Native and Naturalized Higher Vascular Plants of New England. Illustrated by Elizabeth Farnsworth and Gordon Morrison. Yale University Press.
ISBN978-0-300-17154-9.
"Eriophorum virginicum". Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
Weakley, Alan S.; Southeastern Flora Team (2024).
"Eriophorum virginicumLinnaeus". Flora of the southeastern United States. University of North Carolina Herbarium, North Carolina Botanical Garden. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
"Eriophorum virginicum". North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. Retrieved 10 July 2024.