 |
One of the characteristic features of British peat bogs is the spattering of little tufts of, what looks like, pure cotton wool. Theses tufts are the cottongrasses, a small group of plants that thrive in such damp places. Despite their name, they are not grasses but are sedges There are four native species of cottongrass in Britain but the most usual and easily recognisable is the common cottongrass (Eriophorum angustifolium). This has a head of several nodding flowering spikes and its stems and leaves are three-sided only at their tips. Below the tips, the stems are cyclindical and the leaves are flattish. The strands that make up the ball of "cottonwool" begin with short hairs surrounding the ovary. After pollination of the flower and ripening of the fruit, they elongate until they form the fluffy ball. Earlier in the year, when the leave sare fresh and there are no balls of "cottonwool", the plants are hard to recognise against the dull background and vegatation. The fluffy head of the cottongrasses were once used for the wicks of candles. They are still excellent for stuffing pillow cases, if enough are collected!. Extract taken from the Readers Digest: Field Guide To WildFlowers of Britain. |
|
|