Bog cotton

8am on Saturday morning, blowing a hooley and
Bibbas decides she would like to pick bog cotton.

Bog Cotton - Cottongrass - Hares Tail
Bog Cotton or cottongrass or ( its other common name) is is a plant of very damp peaty ground. It is a member of the sedge family. Even though it looks like a type of grass - it isnt. The stem is 20-70 cm tall, and has three to five cotton-like inflorescences hanging from the top. The long narrow leaves which surround each stem turn from green to red-brown in autumn adding to the bogs overall red hue.Bog Cotton looks exactly like cotton wool growing out of the top of a piece of grass.

Bog Cotton was used in the past for making the candle wicks and also for stuffing pillows. It was even used in wound dressings during the first wotld war.

Cotton grass also provides food for grouse and also for heath butterflies