Scirpus cyperinus
| Scirpus cyperinus | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 5' |
| Blooms: | Late Summer-Early Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Scirpus cyperinus (common name: woolly grass bulrush)
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[1]. 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[1].
A polymorphic species[2].
Range: Eastern N. America - Newfoundland to Saskatchewan, south to Florida and Louisiana.
Habitat: Wet low ground[2]. Swamps[3].
Edibility: Seed - cooked. Used as a rice substitute[4].
Usage: The stems are woven to make matting and ropes[4].
The small rushes have been used in making woven mats and storage bags[5].
The fruiting tops of the plant have been used as a resilient material for stuffing and making pillows[5].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hitchcock, Leo. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press, 1955.
- ↑ Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Stuart, George. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei Southern Materials Centre.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.