Eriophorum gracile
Roth.
Cotton grass
(c) Tony Ernst, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Tony Ernst
(c) odenwaelder, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by odenwaelder
(c) Rob Routledge, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Rob Routledge
What to Eat
Edible parts: Root, Stem
Young stem bases can be eaten raw or cooked. The root is also edible raw or cooked, but the blackish covering should be removed before eating.
Where to Find It
It is a temperate plant.
Alaska, Britain, Europe, Korea, North America, USA,
How to Identify
Slender cottongrass is a perennial reaching 50 cm tall. It flowers June to July with seeds ripening July to August. The plant is monoecious with wind-pollinated flowers. It tolerates light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils, thriving in mildly to very acidic conditions. Grows in semi-shade or full light and prefers wet soil or shallow water.
How to Grow
Requires boggy conditions or a pond margin and an acid soil. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Quite invasive.
Propagation: Sow seed in situ in spring in moist soil in light shade. Germination usually takes place within 2–6 weeks at 15°C. If seed is scarce, sow in pots in a cold frame, placing the pots in a tray of water to keep the compost moist. Prick seedlings out into individual pots when large enough to handle, then plant out in summer. Division in spring or autumn is very easy; divisions can be replanted directly into their permanent positions.
Medicinal Uses
None known
Other Uses
The cottony seed hairs are used to make candle wicks, stuff pillows, and produce paper. They also serve as tinder.
Wikipedia
Source ↗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 centimeters 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.
Names & Synonyms
Alaska cotton, Mousenuts, Swamp cotton
References (2)
- Lim, T. K., 2015, Edible Medicinal and Non Medicinal Plants. Volume 9, Modified Stems, Roots, Bulbs. Springer p 41
- Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
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