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Slender cottongrass

Eriophorum gracile

Also called Slender Cottonsedge, Slender Cotton Grass

Slender cottongrass
Photo: Robert H. Mohlenbrock. USDA NRCS. 1992. Western wetland flora: Field office guide to plant species. West Region, Sacrame, Public domain

Slender cottongrass is a tall, thin perennial sedge of wet, boggy ground across the cool Northern Hemisphere, grown for its fluffy white flower heads. The key to growing it is keeping its roots constantly wet, as it naturally lives in bogs.

Family
Cyperaceae (Cyper family)
Grows as
Grass, Perennial
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Keep the soil or root zone constantly moist to saturated.
Soil
Acidic, peaty or boggy mix that holds water well.
Temperature
Hardy in cold winters; protect from prolonged heat above 30 °C.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Subarctic & Temp. Northern Hemisphere
Climate
temperate

About

Eriophorum gracile is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is known by the common name slender cottongrass, or slender cottonsedge. Eriophorum gracile is a plant with circumboreal distribution, extending south into mountain ranges of the Northern Hemisphere. It grows in wet areas such as bogs.

Eriophorum gracile is a thin, tall perennial herb with a slender, rounded, solid, mostly naked stem reaching 30 to 60 cm (12 to 24 in) in height. It produces a fluffy inflorescence atop its stem with a wispy, cottony white flower. The plants grow in colonies, often spreading vegetatively by rhizome.

Other Eriophorum plants

Cottongrass

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Eriophorum gracile by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

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.

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