Eriophorum vaginatum Hare's-tail Cottongrass CC DD N
If you go over the moors on the M62 Motorway from Manchester to Yorkshire in July/August you might notice large patches of off-white all over Moss Moor to the South. This is cotton-grass flowering with hundreds of thousands of plants. It loves peaty country like these moors and is an indication of soggy, acid country.
The leaflets are narrow being only 0.5 to 1 cm in width and having a V shape like E.angustifolium (the leaves of which are narrower still). The single spikelet from a tufted plant with a cottony head is typical.
There is plenty of this plant to be found in northern England, Wales, Ireland and the whole of Scotland but little in southern and central England.
Cwm Idwal, Snowdonia 24th May 2004
Added on November 10th 2004, updated 7th January 2009, updated 29th March 2010