Scirpus cyperinus
Woolly Grass Bulrush
Taxonomy and growth
- Family
- Cyperaceae
- Genus
- Scirpus
- Life cycle
- perennial
- Height
- 1.5 m
- Fertility
- Wind
- Flower type
- hermaphrodite
- Pollinators
- Wind
Uses
Edible uses
Seed - cooked. Used as a rice substitute[1].
- Plant part
- Seed
Material uses
The stems are woven to make matting and ropes[1]. The small rushes have been used in making woven mats and storage bags[4]. The fruiting tops of the plant have been used as a resilient material for stuffing and making pillows[4].
- Product or use
- Stuffing
- Product or use
- Weaving
Environment
- Range
- Eastern N. America - Newfoundland to Saskatchewan, south to Florida and Louisiana.
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- light shade
- Water
- aquatic
- Hardiness
- Zone 7+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy, clay
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral, alkaline
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- intolerant
Propagation
Seed - sow in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe in a pot standing in 3cm of water. Only just cover the seed with soil[2]. The seed usually germinates fairly quickly. Prick out the plants when large enough to handle and plant out in their permanent positions in early summer. Division in spring. Very easy, larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.
Cultivation
Succeeds in any wet to moisture retentive ground, pond margins and shallow water in full sun or shade[2]. A polymorphic species[6].
References
Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970-00-00 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998-00-00 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Diggs, Jnr. G.M.; Lipscomb. B. L. & O'Kennon. R. J Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas Botanical Research Institute, Texas. 1999-00-00 http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/gdiggs/NCTXpdf.htm
Hitchcock. C. L. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press 1955-00-00