Eriophorum gracile W.D.J.Koch

  • Authority

    Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

  • Family

    Cyperaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Eriophorum gracile W.D.J.Koch

  • Description

    Species Description - Colonial from slender rhizomes; stems arising singly, 2–6 dm, weak, often spreading or reclining, smooth, subterete below, somewhat trigonous above; blades 1–2 mm wide, channeled, the uppermost blunt, 1–5 cm, shorter than its sheath; bract erect, shorter than its umbel; spikelets 2–5, the slender, subterete, softly and minutely hairy pedicels to 3 cm; scales ovate, obtuse, drab or blackish, at least toward the margins and tip; bristles white or sordid; achene elliptic-oblong to oblanceolate, 2.5–3.5 mm, 3–4.5 times as long as wide; 2n=60, 76. Bogs and swamps; circumboreal, s. in Amer. to Pa., Ind., Io., Colo., and Calif. Fr Apr.–July.

  • Common Names

    slender cotton-grass