Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (10/20/20):
Eriophorum virginicum
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Tawny Cottongrass at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Eriophorum virginicum
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 030-09-001:
Eriophorum virginicum FAMILY Cyperaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Eriophorum virginicum
COMMON NAME:
Tawny Cottongrass, Tawny Cottonsedge, Cat's-paw
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_ervi8_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_ervi8_005_lvd
)
L.L. (Chick) Gaddy llg_cottongrass
Month Unknown Pocahontas County WV
Cranberry Glades Botanical Area
This northern bog sedge can be found in WV's Cranberry Glades and Dolly Sods, per Alpine South: Plants and Plant Communities of the High Elevations of the Southern Appalachians (Gaddy, 2014).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdme_virginicum
Month Unknown
Leaf blades glabrous, 2-4mm wide, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmevirginicum_bd1
Month Unknown
Involucral bracts usually 3, similar to leaf blades, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmevirginicum_bullpen2
Month Unknown
Produces many long, soft, cotton-like bristles when in fruit, per Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (10/20/20):
Eriophorum virginicum
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Eriophorum virginicum
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 030-09-001:
Eriophorum virginicum
FAMILY
Cyperaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Eriophorum virginicum
2438
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial
Habitat: Peaty sites, limited in habitat throughout the region, occurring in the Mountains in bogs and fens, in the Piedmont (formerly) in bogs, in the fall-line sandhills in frequently burned pocosins and sandhill seeps, in the middle and outer Coastal Plain in pocosins, acidic seeps, and peat-burn pools, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal & alternate
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Brown
Nutlet
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p320
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p008
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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