Woolgrass (Scirpus cyperinus)

Woolgrass, Cottongrass bulrush, Marsh bulrush, Teddybear paws

Cyperaceae (Sedge Family)

Cottongrass bulrush or wool grass is a densely-tufted, clump-forming perennial, 3-6 ft. high, with an erect stem that is leafy up to the flower cluster. Many brown, woolly bristles surround the nutlets giving the cluster of spikelets in the terminal inflorescense a fuzzy appearance. A compound umbel, made up of many spikelets on branching rays, is at the top of a triangular or nearly round stem and is surrounded by spreading green, leaflike bracts; spikelets wooly in fruit.

This is one of several important species of wetland plants, many of them emergents, that provide food and cover for waterfowl and other wildlife. Nearly 30 species of Scirpus occur in eastern North America.

Photographic Location: Longhunter State Park in Middle Tennessee.