arctic cotton-grass (arctic cottongrass)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Photograph
Species Information
General:
Perennial tufted herb, from small, solitary, compact tufts; stems stiff, slender, 6-25 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal sheaths, brownish, cross-wrinkled, persistent, expanded upwards; blades 0.4-1.2 mm wide, stiff, thread-like, folded throughout, the stem leaves usually lacking or solitary, located below the middle of the stem.
Flowers:
Spikes solitary, terminal, erect, at least some of them pendulous, usually broadly tapering towards the bases, erect, egg-shaped or nearly globe-shaped and 1-1.5 cm long in flower, and 2-2.5 cm long in fruit; anthers 0.6-1 mm long; involucral bracts lacking.
Fruits:
Scales blackish or yellowish, lanceolate, appressed to ascending, gradually tapering to slender tips, the midribs not reaching the tips, the lowermost scales 0.5-0.8 cm long, the sterile scales 7 or more; perianth bristles numerous, pure white with a silky sheen, many times longer than the achenes; achenes blackish, ellipsoid, 1.8-2.1 mm long.
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
Ecology
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) |
610 | 610 | 610 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
0 | ||
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
6 | 5 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
B | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
2 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
CDF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
CDF(2) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Bogs, fens and wet to mesic, often calcareous meadows in the montane to alpine zones; infrequent in BC north of 57degreeN and E of the Coast-Cascade Mountains; amphiberingian, N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to WY; Greenland, E Asia.Status Information
Taxonomic Keys
Key to Eriophorum
1. Spikes 2 or more, subtended by one or more leaflike involucral bracts.
2. Leaves narrow, elongate, folded or triangular in cross-section; involucral bracts solitary, shorter than the inflorescence...........................................E. gracile
3. Spikes crowded, the scales with several conspicuous ribs; perianth bristles orange-brown or coppery...........................................E. virginicum
4. Midribs of scales extending to the tips, sheaths green...............E. viridcarinatum
5. Plants rhizomatous or stoloniferous, usually with solitary stems...............E. scheuchzeri
6. Scales with broad, pale margins, the basal ones reflexed................E. vaginatum
7. Perianth bristles pure white with silky sheen; plants 6-25 cm tall..............E. callitrix Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia |