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Eriophorum callitrix
Also called Arctic Cotton Grass, Sheathed Cotton Grass, Arctic Cottonsedge, Beautiful Cottongrass, Beautiful Haired Cottongrass, Sheathed Cottongrass
Eriophorum callitrix, commonly known as Arctic cotton, Arctic cottongrass, suputi, or pualunnguat in Inuktitut, is a perennial Arctic plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is one of the most widespread flowering plants in the northern hemisphere and tundra regions. Upon every stem grows a single round, white and wooly fruit. The seeds are covered in this cottony mass and usually disperse when the wind carries them away.
Eriophorum callitrix has a northern circumpolar distribution with a gap in northern Europe. Its preferred habitats include wet meadows, tundra, and calcareous bogs.
The Inuit used the seed heads as wicks in seal oil lamps. Clumps were placed into babies' pants and then thrown away when soiled.
Tall cottongrass · Northland cottonsedge · Chamisso's cottongrass · Slender cottongrass · Broad-leaved cottongrass · White cottongrass · Fewnerved cottongrass · Tussock cottongrass · Tawny cottongrass · Thinleaf cottonsedge · Cottongrass
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Eriophorum callitrix by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
