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

Southwards, the coast yields to low stands of dwarf birch and willow, sphagnum bogs of arctic cotton grass, pitcher plants, blueberries, lingonberries, and cloudberries.

From Scientific American • Nov. 18, 2019

Days in the arctic tundra are spent navigating the fjord’s maze of floating icebergs by zodiac boat, kayaking the Greenland Sea, and scouting Arctic fox, hare, and loon during treks through fields of cotton grass.

From Time • Apr. 27, 2015

Marching across the meadow, down its gentle slope, leaving a swath of purple paintbrushes and cotton grass in his wake, he pushed toward the river.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

When the cotton grass heads were gone, the winds would lift the snow from the ground to the air and she would not be able to see her feet.

From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George

Only, it was not cotton grass, or at least, not all of the white furry stuff was.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el