cotton grass

American  

noun

1. any rushlike plant constituting the genus Eriophorum, of the sedge family, common in swampy places and bearing spikes resembling tufts of cotton.

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cotton grass British  

noun

1. Also called: bog cotton.  any of various N temperate and arctic grasslike bog plants of the cyperaceous genus Eriophorum, whose clusters of long silky hairs resemble cotton tufts

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Etymology

Origin of cotton grass

First recorded in 1590–1600; so called from its cottonlike heads

Example Sentences

Bullish bets on cotton rose the most since April 2009 and those on coffee doubled.

From BusinessWeek • Jan. 9, 2012

For example, the consumption of cotton rose dramatically in Britain.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2012

Spurred by shortages and rampant speculation in commodities markets, prices for such staples as copper, rubber, cocoa, coffee, platinum and cotton rose sharply; some had doubled or tripled by mid-1974.

From Time Magazine Archive

Even cotton rose in sympathy, making it nearly unanimous among U. S. staple, political crops.

From Time Magazine Archive

Mr. Caldwell seemed to be right, for cotton rose to ten cents a pound—ten and a half—eleven—and then the South began to see visions and to dream dreams.

From The Quest of the Silver Fleece A Novel by Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt)