Scirpus cyperinus (L.) Kunth

vernacular woolgrass — species · Cyperaceae

USDA: SCCY
GBIF: 2720171
Rank: species

woolgrass (Scirpus cyperinus) — Platephotograph · Mark KlugeCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Graminoid
Duration: Perennial
Group: Monocot
Family: Cyperaceae Juss.
Genus: Scirpus

§2a

Native status, by region

CAN Canada Native
L48 Lower 48 States Native
SPM St. Pierre & Miquelon Native

§2b

County-level range

· 4 counties across 1 state

Legend Native · 4 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: Low
Shade: Medium
Moisture use: High
Fire: Medium
Salinity: None
Anaerobic: Medium
CaCO₃: Medium
Hedging: None

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: -33 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 110 min.
Precipitation: 40–60 in/yr
pH range: 4.8–7.2
Root depth: 12 in min.
Fertility need: Medium
Soil texture: coarse, medium, fine

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Bunch
Growth rate: Moderate
Lifespan: Long
Mature height: 4.9 ft
Foliage texture: Coarse
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Moderate
Porosity (winter): Porous
Flower colour: Green
Fruit colour: Yellow
Fire resistant: No
N fixation: None
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Late Summer
Seed abundance: Medium
Seed begins: Summer
Seed ends: Fall
Spread rate: Rapid
Stratify: No
Seeds / lb: 36,000,000
Propagation: seed, sprigs

§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability: Routinely Available
Nursery stock: No
Graze palatability: Medium
Palatable, human: No
Lumber: No
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 4 counties across 1 state.

Rhode Island view state ↗ 4 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/SCCY ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/2720171 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T18:27:19Z