Taxonomic history:
1753: Linnaeus described this species as Eriophorum vaginatum in Species Plantarum, 1st ed., p. 52.
today: The current name for this species is Eriophorum vaginatum L.
original Latin diagnosis
Eriophorum culmis vaginatis teretibus, spica paleacea.
English translation
Eriophorum with culms sheathed [and] circular in cross-section; [and] with a spike chaffy.
| Eriophorum | Eriophorum |
| with culms | culmis - ablative plural of second declension masculine noun culmus, -i |
| sheathed | vaginatis - ablative plural masculine of group A adjective vaginatus, -a, -um; modifies culmis |
| [and] | [added for smoother reading] |
| circular in cross-section; | teretibus - ablative plural masculine of group B adjective teres, -es, -e; modifies culmis |
| [and] | [added for smoother reading] |
| with a spike | spica - ablative singular of first declension feminine noun spica, -ae |
| chaffy. | paleacea - ablative singular feminine of group A adjective paleaceus, -a, -um; modifies spica |