Northeast Wetland Flora
Field Office Guide to Plant Species
Eriophorum polystachion L.
- Family: Sedge (Cyperaceae)
- Flowering: June-August
- Field Marks: This sedge differs by its broad leaves 1/6-1/3 inch wide and the chestnut-colored scales with only 1 prominent vein that does not extend to the tip.
- Habitat: Bogs.
- Habit: Tufted perennial herb with fibrous roots.
- Stems: Upright, slender, somewhat triangular, up to nearly 3 feet tall.
- Leaves: Elongated, flat, rough along the edges, 1/6-1/3 inch wide.
- Flowers: Borne in spikelets, with many spikelets crowded into an umbel, the rays of the umbel very slender and rough, the umbel subtended by 2-3 leaf-like bracts, the spikelets oblongoid to ovoid; scales chestnut-colored, 1-nerved.
- Sepals: 0, but represented by numerous, elongated bristles that give the inflorescence a "cotton ball" appearance.
- Petals: 0, but represented by numerous, elongated bristles that give the inflorescence a "cotton ball" appearance.
- Stamens: 3.
- Pistils: Ovary superior.
- Fruits: Achenes triangular, up to 1/6 inch long, with bright white to creamy bristles.
- Notes: The achenes are eaten by waterfowl.
Previous Species -- Small Spikerush (Eleocharis parvula)
Return to Species List -- Group 3
Next Species -- Hare's-tail (Eriophorum spissum)
