Eriophorum angustifolium Honck.
narrow-leaved cotton-grass (tall cottongrass)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
narrow-leaved cotton-grass (tall cottongrass)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Photograph
© Irmgard & Gerald Carter (Photo ID #7785)
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from creeping rhizomes; stems 10-90 cm tall.
Leaves:
Sheaths brownish to purplish or blackish, persistent; blades 2-6 (8) mm wide, flat but becoming narrow and folded toward the tips, the uppermost ones equalling or exceeding the sheaths.
Flowers:
Spikes 2 to 10, terminal, erect, at least some of them pendulous, egg-shaped and 1-2 cm long in flower, 2-4 cm long in fruit; anthers 2.5-4 mm long; involucral bracts several, unequal, 2 or more of them evidently leaflike, the longest ones equalling or surpassing the inflorescence.
Fruits:
Scales brownish or blackish-green, egg-shaped to lanceolate, appressed to ascending, 1-ribbed, pointed, the slender midribs not reaching the tips; perianth bristles numerous, whitish, creamy-white to tawny, many times longer than the achenes; achenes blackish, 2-3 mm long, broadly lanceolate to egg-shaped.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Eriophorum angustifolium
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1189 | 7 | 2240 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
3 | 0 | 84 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
352 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
6 | 1 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
926 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ESSF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(1), BAFA(12), BWBS(12), CDF(1), CMA(1), CWH(126), ESSF(416), ICH(83), IDF(10), MH(75), MS(37), SBPS(10), SBS(114), SWB(2) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Bogs, fens, marshes, shorelines and wet meadows in all vegetation zones; common throughout BC; circumpolar, N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to NH, NC, TN, IA, NE, NM, ID and OR; Eurasia.Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Eriophorum angustifolium subsp. triste (Th. Fr.) Hultén