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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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