common_nature | Photo: Cottongrass

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rodo posting in

common_nature

A couple of weeks ago, I finally had time for a walk in the local bog, which was great, because it was cottongrass season:

I love cottongrass, and I've missed seeing it, because the last year, I was too busy with stuff to take the time to go.

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From:

yourlibrarian

Ooh what a neat view!

From:

rodo

I know! Pity you can't see it year round.

From:

elisem

Oooh! That's cool.

From:

rodo

It totally is!

From:

shirebound

Oh my goodness, I've never seen that before.

From:

rodo

Cottongrass only grows in very specific places, so yeah, most people have never seen it.

From:

signoftea

Beautiful! I love cottongrass.

From:

rodo

Yeah, it's great! There's a lot of tradition associated with the local bog around here, so I'm glad I learned to appreciate it early.

From:

sholio

Oh, I love cottongrass! Last year I happened to be driving through an area where there's a lot of it right at blooming season (or whatever it's called when they make the cotton) and there were huge white fields of it along the road. It looked almost like it had snowed.

From:

rodo

Yeah, it absolutely has to be the right moment, or else you're just going to see... grass. Which is a lot less striking.

From:

cmcmck

It's not native here (UK) but looks a bit like bulrushes before they flower

From:

ranunculus

I need to, very politely, differ with you.
While you are absolutely correct, this is a sedge, I believe Cotton Grass is native to Britain.
I had to look it up on Wiki, because I remember seeing a wonderful field of it over on Hoy, near the Dwarfie Stone. We must have been there at exactly the right time to see it in cotton. Wiki says that "Cotton Grass" Eriophorum angustifolium, is a sedge that is native across the EU and North America. Grows in highly acidic soils, such as peat bogs.

From:

cmcmck

We live in the wrong sort of area for it clearly. Must have been on Hoy at the wrong time of year as I know the area you're talking about.

From:

rodo

The internet tells me that cottongrass is native to the UK. But it prefers acidic bogs - preferably really wet ones, as you can see in the picture - so it may be be a bit hard to find. (And you're right, it's related to bulrushes.)

Edited Date: 2024-05-27 05:14 am (UTC)

From:

cmcmck

We live in Shropshire which is largely sandstone hill country so not quite right fot it.

From:

rodo

Pretty far from right for it, actually ^_^

It's kind of amazing what a difference a kilometer can make, sometimes. This place is about three kilometers from my home, and yet there's no cottongrass on my side of the hill at all.