Eriophorum chamissonis C.A. Mey.
Chamisso's cotton-grass (Chamisso’s cotton-grass)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Chamisso's cotton-grass (Chamisso’s cotton-grass)
Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from creeping rhizomes or stolons, extensively colonial; stem 20-75 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal sheaths brown to purplish-brown, cross-wrinkled, persistent, not or only somewhat expanded upwards, the uppermost sheaths usually bladeless; stem leaves few, usually 1 to 3, located below the middle of the stems, mostly borne near the bases, rarely one above; blades 0.4-2 mm wide, short to elongate, thread-like, folded throughout or triangular in cross-section.
Flowers:
Spikes solitary, terminal, erect, at least some of them pendulous, appearing broad-based, egg-shaped-cylindrical and 1.5-2 cm long in flower, globe-shaped and 2-4 cm long in fruit; anthers mostly 1-3 (3.2) mm long; involucral bracts lacking.
Fruits:
Scales blackish to greyish, the middle scales lanceolate or broadly lanceolate, appressed to ascending, the midribs not reaching the tips, more or less long and sharp-pointed or blunt, with narrow, pale margins or broad translucent margins, the sterile sc
Notes:
Two, sometimes difficult to separate, varieties occur in BC:
1. Perianth bristles rust-coloured; plants stout, the stems over 1.5 mm wide at the bases; middle scales lanceolate, more or less long-pointed, with narrow, pale margins...................... var. chamissonis.
1. Perianth bristles white to tawny; plants slender, the stems less than 1.5 mm wide at the bases; middle scales broadly lanceolate, blunt, with broad translucent margins..................... var. albidum (Nyl.) Fern.
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Eriophorum chamissonis
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) |
998 | 15 | 2085 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
2 | 0 | 50 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
57 | 24 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
6 | 1 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
B | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
157 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
SBS | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(1), BAFA(3), BWBS(5), CDF(1), CWH(35), ESSF(24), ICH(20), IDF(2), MS(13), SBPS(3), SBS(43), SWB(3) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Bogs, streambanks, lakeshores and wet meadows in all vegetation zones; var. chamissonis – common throughout BC; var. albidum – infrequent in N BC, rare S to 51°N east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains; N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to WI, MN, ND, CO and OR.Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Eriophorum chamissonis var. aquatile (Norman) Fernald
Eriophorum russeolum Fr. ex Hartm.
Eriophorum russeolum subsp. rufescens (E.S. Anderson) Hyl., nom. inq.