Eriophorum
Eriophorum (cottongrass, cotton-grass or cottonsedge) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cyperaceae, the sedge family. They are found throughout the arctic, subarctic and temperate portions of the Northern Hemisphere in acid bog habitats, being particularly abundant in Arctic tundra regions.
They are herbaceous perennial plants with slender, grass-like leaves. The seed heads are covered in a fluffy mass of cotton which are carried on the wind to aid dispersal. In cold Arctic regions, these masses of translucent fibres also serve as 'down' – increasing the temperature of the reproductive organs during the Arctic summer by trapping solar radiation.
Selected species
The following species are included:
Eriophorum angustifolium Honck. – widespread across Europe, Asia, North America
Eriophorum × beringianum Raymond – Alaska including Aleutians; Magadan region of Russia (hybrid E. angustifolium × E. chamissonis)
Eriophorum brachyantherum Trautv. & C.A.Mey. – Scandinavia, northern Russia, Mongolia, Korea, Alaska, northern Canada
