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TAWNY COTTONGRASS

NOMENCLATURE

Other Names: tawny cottongrass

 Scientific Name: Eriophorum virginicum L.

 Plant Family: Cyperaceae

GENERAL INFORMATION

Botanical Description: sedge

 Stems: erect, triangular in cross-section, smooth, slender, 1 - 4 feet tall, grow singly or in clumps of few from a rootstock

 Leaves: narrowly linear, flat, rough margins, 0.25 inch wide or less

 Roots:

Flowers: appear in a tuft at or near the end of stems May - August, the long slender bristles somewhat like a cottonball of tawny white to copper-color

 Seeds: between 1/8 and 1/4 inch long, length about 3 times the width, copper colored or brown, with many long tawny white to copper bristles

 Seedling:

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE

Can be a recurrent problem if left uncontrolled.

LIFE CYCLE

Reproduction: perennial

Propagation: rootstocks, seed

 Dispersal:

DISTRIBUTION

State: Found in wetlands throughout Wisconsin.

 National: Found in bogs and swampy areas east of the Mississippi River north into Canada and south to Florida and Kentucky.

 Origin:

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

Prefers peat soils and poorly drained areas. Can easily invade beds and marshes. Common in old cranberry bogs where it is a pernicious weed.

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: 15% cotton grass, 10% boneset and joe-pye weed mix.

REFERENCES

Dana, M. 1987. Cranberry Weeds in Wisconsin. Department of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Madison, Wisconsin. p. 8.

 

Gleason, H. A. 1952. Illustrated Flora of the United States and Adjacent Canada. Vol . 1. Lancaster Press, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. p. 281.

Kummer, L. D., T. G. Dittl, and T. D. Planer. 1993. Wisconsin Cranberry Weeds. Wisconsin Cranberry Board, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. p. 30.

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