Eriophorum
Eriophorum | |
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Eriophorum vaginatum | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Poales |
Family: | Cyperaceae |
Genus: | Eriophorum L. |
Type species | |
Eriophorum vaginatum L.[1] | |
Synonyms[2] | |
Heterotypic synonyms
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Eriophorum (cottongrass, cotton-grass or cottonsedge) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cyperaceae, the sedge family. They are found throughout the arctic, subarctic, and temperate portions of the Northern Hemisphere in acid bog habitats, being particularly abundant in Arctic tundra regions.[3][4][5][6]
Description
They are herbaceous perennial plants with slender, grass-like leaves. The seed heads are covered in a fluffy mass of cotton-like fibers which are carried on the wind to aid dispersal. The cotton grass also maintains a height of 12 inches and around 2 inches in water. In cold Arctic regions, these masses of translucent fibres also serve as 'down' – increasing the temperature of the reproductive organs during the Arctic summer by trapping solar radiation.[7]
Selected species
These species are included:[6][8]
- Eriophorum angustifolium Honck. – widespread across Europe, Asia, North America
- Eriophorum × beringianum Raymond – Alaska including Aleutians; Magadan region of Russia (hybrid E. angustifolium × E. chamissonis)
- Eriophorum brachyantherum Trautv. & C.A.Mey. – Scandinavia, northern Russia, Mongolia, Korea, Alaska, northern Canada
- Eriophorum callitrix Cham. ex C.A.Mey. – Siberia, Russian Far East, Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Montana, Wyoming
- Eriophorum chamissonis C.A.Mey. – Siberia, Russian Far East, Korea, Mongolia, Alaska, Canada, Greenland, northern and western United States
- Eriophorum crinigerum (A.Gray) Beetle – Oregon, northwestern California
- Eriophorum × fellowsii (Fernald) M.S.Novos. – Ontario, Maine, Massachusetts (hybrid E. virginicum × E. viridicarinatum)
- Eriophorum gracile Koch – much of Europe; northern and Central Asia; China, Tibet, Mongolia, Alaska, Canada, northern United States
- Eriophorum × gracilifolium M.S.Novos. – European Russia (hybrid E. gracile × E. latifolium)
- Eriophorum humile Turcz. – Altai, Tuva, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Amur
- Eriophorum latifolium Hoppe – much of Europe; Caucasus, Turkey, Mongolia
- Eriophorum × medium Andersson – scattered locations in Finland, Norway, Russia, Alaska, Quebec, Labrador (hybrid E. chamissonis × E. scheuchzeri)
- Eriophorum × polystachiovaginatum Beauverd – France (hybrid E. angustifolium × E. vaginatum)
- Eriophorum × pylaieanum Raymond – scattered locations in Canada and Alaska (hybrid E. chamissonis × E. vaginatum)
- Eriophorum × rousseauianum Raymond – Alaska, Quebec (hybrid E. angustifolium × E. scheuchzeri)
- Eriophorum scabriculme (Beetle) Raymond – Vietnam
- Eriophorum scheuchzeri Hoppe – much of Europe; northern and Central Asia including Siberia, Xinjiang, Himalayas, Alaska, Greenland, Canada, mountains of western United States
- Eriophorum tenellum Nutt. – eastern Canada and northeastern United States from Nunavut and Labrador to New Jersey
- Eriophorum tolmatchevii M.S.Novos. – Krasnoyarsk, Yakutiya
- Eriophorum transiens Raymond – Guizhou
- Eriophorum vaginatum L. – most of genus range
- Eriophorum virginicum L. – eastern North America from Labrador to Tennessee, west to Michigan
- Eriophorum viridicarinatum (Engelm.) Fernald – Canada including Arctic territories; northern United States
Uses
Paper and the wicks of candles have been made of its fiber, and pillows stuffed with the same material. The leaves were formerly used in treating diarrhea, and the spongy pith of the stem for the removal of tapeworm.[9]
References
- ^ "Eriophorum". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
- ^ "Eriophorum L.". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
- ^ Ball, Peter W.; Wujek, Daniel E. (2002). "Eriophorum". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 23. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 20 August 2024 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
- ^ Flora Europaea: Eriophorum
- ^ Liang, Prof. Song-Yun; Tucker, Gordon C.; Simpson, David A. "Eriophorum". Flora of China. Vol. 23. Retrieved 20 August 2024 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
- ^ a b Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- ^ Crawford, R. M. M. (1989). Studies in Plant Survival. Blackwell Science. pp. 54–55.
- ^ "Eriophorum L., Sp. Pl.: 52 (1753)". eMonocot. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
- ^ This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Cotton-Grass" . Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921.
Bibliography
- Fernald, M. L. (May 1905). "The North American species of Eriophorum. Part 1: Synopsis of American species". Rhodora. 7 (77): 81–92. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
- Fernald, M. L. (July 1905). "The North American species of Eriophorum. Part 2: Notes on the preceding synopsis". Rhodora. 7 (79): 129–136. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
- Starr, Julian R.; Léveillé-Bourret, Étienne; Vu, Anh Tài; Nguyên, Thi Kim Thanh; Ford, Bruce A. (2019). "The rediscovery of the rare Vietnamese endemic Eriophorum scabriculme redefines generic limits in the Scirpo-Caricoid Clade (Cyperaceae)". PeerJ. 7:e7538. doi:10.7717/peerj.7538. PMC 6765354. PMID 31579569.
- Tucker, Gordon C.; Miller, Norton G. (1990). "Achene microstructure in Eriophorum L. (Cyperaceae): systematic implications and paleobotanical applications" (PDF). Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 117 (3): 266–283. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Wikispecies-logo.svg/34px-Wikispecies-logo.svg.png)
- "Eriophorum L. (1753), Sp. Pl. 52". Retrieved 20 August 2024.
- "Eriophorum L.". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
- "Eriophorum subgen. Phyllanthela (Andersson) T.V.Egorova". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
- "Eriophorum sect. Phyllanthela Andersson". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
- "Eriophorum sect. Vaginata Andersson". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 20 August 2024.