Narrow-leaved cotton grass

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Narrow-leaved cotton grass
Narrow-leaved cottongrass (Eriophorum angustifolium).

Narrow-leaved cottongrass ( Eriophorum angustifolium ).

Systematics
Monocots
Commelinids
Order : Sweet grass (Poales)
Family : Sourgrass family (Cyperaceae)
Genre : Cottongrass ( Eriophorum )
Type : Narrow-leaved cotton grass
Scientific name
Eriophorum angustifolium
Honck.

The narrow-leaved cotton grass ( Eriophorum angustifolium ) is a species of the sour grass family (Cyperaceae). It is a distinctive type of high- and intermediate moors . The long flower covering threads of the fruits form the characteristic white wool of the cotton grass ( Eriophorum ).

description

The perennial , herbaceous plant reaches heights of between 20 and 90 centimeters. This geophyte and helophyte grows in loose grass and forms rhizomes and long runners - unlike, for example, the vaginal cottongrass ( Eriophorum vaginatum ). The upright stems have a round cross-section and are leafy; at the top they are gray-green, smooth and round or bluntly triangular.

The leaf sheath of the uppermost stem leaf is slightly inflated. The laterally rough leaf blades are linear, runny and narrow into a long triangular tip. They are 2 to 6 millimeters wide and are dark green, often red to copper-red in late summer. The ligule are very short.

The inflorescence has two foliage -like bracts and usually consists of three to five, sometimes up to eight, spikelets . These first sessile, then stalked and finally overhanging spikelets are 10 to 22 millimeters long and are up to fifty-flowered. In contrast to the broad-leaved cottongrass , the spikelet stalks are smooth. Each of the hermaphrodite flowers has three stamens ( anthers ) and stigmas . The husks are pointed, brown and skin-edged.

The filaments of the perianth are numerous. They lengthen up to five centimeters after the flowering period, later fall off as a unit with the fruits and form the white woolly tuft that is characteristic of cotton grasses. Their long flower covering threads remain at the base of the caryopsis (a special form of the nut fruit) after ripening and form a flight apparatus for better spreading of the seeds by the wind. The caryopsis is sharp triangular, almost winged, 2 to 3 millimeters long and brown. The narrow-leaved cottongrass flowers from March to May. There is rarely a second flowering period in September.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 58.

  • The leaves are drawn out into a triangular point.

  • The leaf sheath of the uppermost stem leaf is bulbous.

  • Ligule

  • Spikelets with woolly perigone bristles

  • Flower with bract

  • nut

Distribution and location

Narrow-leaved cottongrass occurs throughout Europe , in arctic and temperate Asia and North America, quite frequently in warm temperate to arctic climates from the lowlands to altitudes of around 1960 meters above sea level ( planar-collinous to subalpine ).

It grows on nutrient-poor ( oligo- to mesotrophic ), base- and lime-poor, acidic to moderately acidic, wet, partially flooded bog soils, predominantly in intermediate bogs and rain bogs , in pine and birch forests as well as in secondary birch-rich " bog forests" of drained locations, but also on acidic, nutrient-poor sandy soils on the banks of oligotrophic lakes.

Locations and distribution in Central Europe

The narrow-leaved cottongrass loves moderately base-rich, very wet, muddy or sandy-peaty soils.

It colonizes wet meadows, ditches, spring horizons, banks of silting moor lakes, dunes, intermediate and flat moors. In the Alps it is found scattered up to an altitude of over 2000 m. In the Allgäu Alps in Vorarlberg at the Hochalpsee near the Widderstein it rises up to 1980 meters above sea level. Stands in vibrating turf are typical . It drives its long runners into these flexible blankets of peat moss . This anchors itself and at the same time solidifies the vibrating lawn; However, its presence there does not guarantee that the swinging lawn can be walked on.

At its locations it often occurs in smaller, sometimes also in considerable stocks.

General distribution

Narrow-leaved cottongrass occurs in Europe, Asia (up to Korea and Japan), in North America and in Greenland. In Europe, its distribution area extends north to northern Norway, south to northern Spain, southern Italy and the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula. In Germany it occurs mainly in the low-lime mountain ranges and in the North German Plain.

Socialization

Rewetting area (polder) in northwest Germany, polder edge with narrow-leaved cotton grass.

The narrow-leaved cottongrass is a character species of the Scheuchzerio-Caricetea fuscae class ( Kleinseggenriede of the Sauer- and Basen-intermediate moors). In intermediate limestone bogs it is replaced by broad-leaved cottongrass ( Eriophorum latifolium ). In intermediate bogs it often grows together with peat moss such as the spit peat moss ( Sphagnum cuspidatum ), bladder rush ( Scheuchzeria palustris ), white beaked reed ( Rhynchospora alba ) and black clover ( Menyanthes trifoliata ).

In Bult-Schlenken complexes of the Oxycocco-Sphagnetea class of the rain bogs, the narrow-leaved cottongrass grows on the edges of Schlenken, Blänken and peat clouds . In some places it can also fill this in completely. In young raised bog renaturation it often occurs in a stand-forming manner. There it predominantly colonizes the wet edges of the polders (retention basins to hold back precipitation). On land, it is often replaced by cotton grass, which prefers drier locations.

ecology

Ecological pointer values ​​according to Ellenberg : L - 8 T - x K - x F - 9 = R - 4 N - 2 S - 0

The narrow-leaved cottongrass is a rhizome - geophyte with underground runners. The linear-runny leaves are to be understood as an adaptation to the mineral salt deficiency of the site, so they represent a peinomorphosis , as it is typical for bog plants. Narrow-leaved cottongrass is a light plant, which means that it grows in full light and can only exceptionally endure shade. His ecological focus is on soaked, often flooded, air-poor, acidic to moderately acidic, nitrogen-poor soils. It overwinters with green leaves, which are renewed in spring.

The narrow-leaved cottongrass is wind-flowered ( anemophilia ) of the "long-dust thread type" and female. The seeds are transported by the wind ( anemochory ). The narrow-leaved cottongrass flowers from March to May. There is rarely a second flowering period in September.

The fruits are small nuts crowned by the strongly elongated perigone bristles; too many stand together as a white woolly head. The fruits are transported by the wind (anemochory) as an umbrella flyer. The rate of descent is approx. 22 cm / s, so that flight distances of at least 10 km are possible. In damp weather, it also spreads as watery. Large specimens can produce up to 130,000 fruits. Fruit ripens in June.

Vegetative reproduction occurs through underground runners .

Sourgrass is a pioneer of root creeping and can quickly colonize suitable areas without vegetation.

Systematics

One can distinguish the following subspecies:

  • Eriophorum angustifolium subsp. angustifolium : It occurs in the subarctic and temperate zones of the northern hemisphere.
  • Eriophorum angustifolium subsp. komarovii (VNVassil.) Vorosch. : It occurs from Siberia to Far Eastern Russia.
  • Eriophorum angustifolium subsp. dreary (TCEFr.) Hultén : It occurs in the subarctic.

Hazard and protection

The narrow-leaved cottongrass spreads quickly over runners on areas without vegetation.

The narrow-leaved cottongrass is not endangered worldwide and enjoys no legal protection. In Germany, too, the plant is not considered to be endangered nationwide, but is classified as endangered (hazard category 3) in the red lists of endangered fern and flowering plants in individual federal states.

Sources and further information

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b J. Grau, BP Kremer, BM Möseler, G. Rambold, D. Triebel: Gräser. Mosaik-Verlag, Munich 1996. ISBN 3-576-10702-9
  2. ^ Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas . With the collaboration of Angelika Schwabe and Theo Müller. 8th, heavily revised and expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 , pp.  158 .
  3. ↑ Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora. Ulmer, Stuttgart 1994. ISBN 3-8252-1828-7
  4. ↑ Erhard Dörr, Wolfgang Lippert : Flora of the Allgäu and its surroundings. Volume 1, IHW, Eching 2001, ISBN 3-930167-50-6 , p. 220.
  5. ↑ E. Oberdorfer: South German Plant Societies. Part I: Rock and wall communities, alpine corridors, water, silting and moor communities. 4th edition, Gustav Fischer, Jena, Stuttgart, 1998. ISBN 3-437-35280-6
  6. ↑ Heinz Ellenberg , HE Weber, R. Düll, V. Wirth, W. Werner, D. Paulißen: Pointer values ​​of plants in Central Europe. Scripta Geobotanica 18, Verlag Erich Goltze, 1992. ISBN 3-88452-518-2
  7. ↑ a b c d Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Eriophorum angustifolium. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  8. ↑ FloraWeb: Endangerment and Protection , accessed on April 22, 2011

further reading

  • Dietmar Aichele, Heinz-Werner Schwegler: Our grasses. Kosmos-Naturführer, Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart, 1998. ISBN 3-440-07613-X
  • Ruprecht Düll , Herfried Kutzelnigg : Pocket dictionary of plants in Germany and neighboring countries. The most common Central European species in portrait. 7th, corrected and enlarged edition. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2011, ISBN 978-3-494-01424-1 .
  • Dietmar Aichele, Heinz-Werner Schwegler: The flowering plants of Central Europe , Franckh-Kosmos-Verlag, 2nd revised edition 1994, 2000, volume 5, ISBN 3 440-08048-X
  • Oskar Sebald, Siegmund Seybold, Georg Philippi, Arno Wörz (eds.): The fern and flowering plants of Baden-Württemberg. Volume 8: Special part (Spermatophyta, subclasses Commelinidae part 2, Arecidae, Liliidae part 2): Juncaceae to Orchidaceae. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-8001-3359-8 .

Web links

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