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WOOL GRASS

NOMENCLATURE

Other Names:

Scientific Name: Scirpus cyperinus L. Kunth

 Plant Family: Cyperaceae

GENERAL INFORMATION

Botanical Description: sedge

 Stems: erect, round, almost tubular (unusual for sedges), very smooth, reach 1 - 5 feet

Leaves: blades 1/8 to 1/2 inch wide, often surrounding the stem until the last few inches

 Roots: stout rootstocks

 Flowers: Green to brown clusters of tiny flowers are found on multi-branched heads at and near the ends of stems.

 Seeds: Found in a reddish-brown, multi-layered nutlet with fuzzy, woolly appearance. Individual seeds are tiny (<1/16 inch), somewhat oblong, and flattened or slightly triangular in cross-section.

 Seedling:

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE

LIFE CYCLE

Reproduction: perennial

 Propagation: mostly by rootstocks, also seed

 Dispersal:

DISTRIBUTION

State: Most widespread in northern Wisconsin, although found throughout the state.

 National: Found in wetlands in the Great Lake states, southward from Louisiana to Florida.

 Origin:

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

Prefers bogs and marshes. Common in sedge meadows, especially in northern Wisconsin. Occasionally invades new or established beds. Frequently found in wetlands adjacent to cranberry beds.

SCOUTING PROCEDURE/ET

While scouting a cranberry bed for disease and insect pests, identify weed populations as they arise. Note the specie(s) of weed present as well as the population level relative to field area. Example: 30% wool grass, 10% boneset and joe-pye weed mix.

REFERENCES

Gleason, H. A. 1952. Illustrated Flora of the United States and Adjacent Canada. Vol . 1. Lancaster Press, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. p. 276.

Kummer, L. D., T. G. Dittl, and T. D. Planer. 1993. Wisconsin Cranberry Weeds. Wisconsin Cranberry Board, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. p. 29.

 

McGregor, R. L. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. p. 1109.

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