Eriophorum virginicum is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae.[3]

Eriophorum virginicum
Morristown, Vermont, USA (25 July)

Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
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 confertissimum Alph.Wood
    • Eriophorum virginianum Houtt.
    • Eriophorum virginicum var. album A.Gray
    • Eriophorum virginicum f. album (A.Gray) Wiegand
    • Eriophorum virginicum var. confertissimum (Alph.Wood) Alph.Wood
    • Eriophorum virginicum var. gracile Torr.

Description

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Eriophorum virginicum is a perennial herbaceous plant that spreads by means of underground rhizomes.[4]

Taxonomy

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Eriophorum virginicum was first described by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1753.[2]

Distribution and habitat

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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.[5] In the U.S., it is most common in New England and the Great Lakes region.[6] It is the only species of Eriophorum in North America that occurs in the southeastern U.S.,[7] where it is least common.

Eriophorum virginicum is an obligate wetland (OBL) species.[8][9] In New England, it prefers bogs, acidic fens, and wet meadows.[10][11]

Ecology

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Eriophorum virginicum flowers in the early summer. After the flowers are pollinated, cotton-like fruiting heads develop during mid-summer and early autumn.[12] In Minnesota, fruiting occurs from July to September.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "Eriophorum virginicum". NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Eriophorum virginicum L.". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Eriophorum virginicum L.". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  4. ^ Gilman (2015), pp. 134–135.
  5. ^ "Eriophorum virginicum". State-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Eriophorum virginicum". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Eriophorum". State-level distribution maps from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  8. ^ Lichvar et al. (2016).
  9. ^ "Eriophorum virginicum L.". National Wetland Plant List. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  10. ^ Haines (2011), pp. 161–162.
  11. ^ "Eriophorum virginicum — tawny cottonsedge". Go Botany. Native Plant Trust. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "Eriophorum virginicum (Tawny Cottongrass)". Minnesota Wildflowers. Retrieved 6 July 2024.

Bibliography

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  • 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. ISBN 978-0-89327-516-7.
  • Gledhill, David (2008). The Names of Plants (4th ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-86645-3.
  • 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. ISBN 978-0-300-17154-9.
  • Lichvar, R.W.; Banks, D.L.; Kirchner, W.N.; Melvin, N.C. (28 April 2016). "The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings" (PDF). Phytoneuron. 2016–30: 1–17. ISSN 2153-733X. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
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  • "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 virginicum Linnaeus". 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.
  • "Tawny Cotton Grass". Illinois Wildflowers. Retrieved 10 July 2024.