Scirpus cyperinus

9.9

A tall grass-like plant with many woolly flower clusters that grows in wet places in eastern North America

noun

Specialized

: Scirpus cyperinus

The wet meadows were dotted with Scirpus cyperinus, standing tall among the grasses.

Examples

Many ecologists note that Scirpus cyperinus provides important habitat for wetland wildlife.
The Scirpus cyperinus grows abundantly in wetlands.
Gardeners sometimes plant Scirpus cyperinus for its decorative woolly spikelets in native landscapes.
Have you seen the Scirpus cyperinus in the marsh?
Gardeners sometimes plant Scirpus cyperinus for its decorative woolly spikelets in native landscapes.
Many ecologists note that Scirpus cyperinus provides important habitat for wetland wildlife.
The wet meadows were dotted with Scirpus cyperinus, standing tall among the grasses.

Synonyms

wool grass

vsScirpus cyperinus

9.9

A marsh plant with many grouped soft, fuzzy seed heads

is the formal scientific name for the same species

Surface Forms

Scirpus cyperinus singular

Scirpus cyperini plural

Morphology

Scirpus + cyperinus

This is a Latin scientific binomial: while 'Scirpus' indicates a grasslike marsh plant, the second element 'cyperinus' is not an English lexical item and does not transparently convey the specific traits (woolly spikelets, species identity) to a B1 learner. Scientific species names are formulaic labels rather than compositional phrases, so the overall meaning cannot be derived from the parts by an average learner.

Etymology

Scirpus cyperinus is often called 'woolgrass' because it has soft, wool-like clusters of seeds that sit at the top of its stems. That simple image of little tufts of 'wool' helps you remember this grass-like plant and why people use it for decoration and for wetland wildlife habitat.