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Eriophorum gracile

Common name:	Cotton Grass	Family:	Cyperaceae
Author:	Roth.	Botanical references:	17
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Central and northern Europe, including Britain.
Habitat:	Rare and local in wet acid bogs[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Slank Wollegras [D], Slender Cotton-grass [L,B], Slender Cottongrass [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	eriophorum = wooly gracile = thin, slender
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Cyperales. Sedge family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.5m. . It is in flower from June to July, and the seeds ripen from July to August. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Wind. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers acid soils and can grow in very acid soil. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires wet soil and can grow in water.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Pond, Bog Garden.

Edible Uses

Root Stem.

Young stem bases - raw or cooked[172].
Root - raw or cooked. The blackish covering should be removed[172].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Paper Stuffing Tinder Wick.

The cottony seed hairs are used to make candle wicks[172]. They are also used for stuffing pillows, paper making etc and as a tinder[172].

Cultivation details

Requires boggy conditions or a pond margin and an acid soil[1, 162]. Grows well in heavy clay soils.
Quite invasive.

Propagation

Seed - sow in situ in spring in a moist soil in light shade. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 6 weeks at 15° c[200].
If the seed is in short supply it can be sown in pots in a cold frame. Place the pots in a try of water to keep the compost moist. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
Division in spring or autumn. Very easy, the divisions can be replanted direct into their permanent positions.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Cyperaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[162] Grounds. R. Ornamental Grasses. Christopher Helm 1989 ISBN 0-7470-1219-9
Cultivation details of many of the grasses and bamboos. Well illustrated.

[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest.
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Eriophorum+gracile
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Eriophorum+gracile

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