Eriophorum virginicum L.
Tawny cottonsedge, tawny cotton-grass, tawny cottongrass
Tawny cotton-grass is a North American native plant, found along much of the eastern seaboard and especially in the northeast.
Plants: Stems (culms) are not branched, hairless, and 1–4′ (40–121 cm) in height. They are single, or in small groups, with round or slightly triangular cross sections.
Leaves: Alternate, up to 1′ ⨉ 1/32–⅛″ (30 cm ⨉ 1.5–4 mm) wide. They are linear, flat at the base, becoming triangular in cross section as they approach the tip, with parallel veins. They may be erect, or floppy.
Flowers: Although they often look like a single tuft of cotton, the tuft is comprised of 2-10 densely packed spikelet clusters. The lowermost spikelets are wrapped in leafy bracts, like tiny ears of corn. Each spikelet is ⅛–⅜″ (6–10 mm) long. Ten or more threadlike bristles—the “cotton”—extend from the base of each flower. The threads eventually become up to ¾″ (2 cm) long, usually brown at the base, and somewhere between off white and brown or red-brown as the plant ages. The red-brown color distinguishes tawny cotton-grass from other cotton grasses. (More subtle identifiers include a single stamen per floret instead of 3, and multiple veins on the scales of the seedheads.) Flowers appear from June to September.
Fruits: Fruits appear from July to September. The achenes are 1/16–⅛″ (2.5–4 mm) long, shaped like a narrow ellipse with a triangular or rounded cross section. They are brown or black.
Habitats: Wet, peaty, acidic soil, such as bogs, damp meadows, and conifer swamps.
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Similar species. |
Online References:
References:
8/3/2025 · Saco Heath Preserve, Saco, Maine · ≈ 3 × 4″ (8.4 × 10 cm) 
8/22/2020 · Kettle Hole Bog, Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 3½″ (11 × 9.6 cm) 
8/3/2025 · Saco Heath Preserve, Saco, Maine · ≈ 3 × 2½″ (7.7 × 6.8 cm) 
7/15/2020 · Cathance River Nature Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 3 × 3½″ (8 × 9.5 cm) 
8/22/2020 · Kettle Hole Bog, Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Maine · ≈ 3 × 3½″ (7.6 × 9.7 cm) 
8/22/2020 · Kettle Hole Bog, Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Maine · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 20 cm) 
10/8/2016 · Groton Town Forest, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 3 × 5″ (8.3 × 13 cm) 
8/22/2020 · Kettle Hole Bog, Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Maine · ≈ 3 × 3½″ (7.8 × 9.2 cm) 
8/22/2020 · Kettle Hole Bog, Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Maine · ≈ 3 × 4″ (7.6 × 10 cm) 
7/19/2020 · Heath Trail, Cathance River Nature Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 3½ × 5″ (9.8 × 12 cm) 
The leaves are bog Labrador tea (Ledum groenlandicum), not part of the sedge. · 8/22/2020 · Kettle Hole Bog, Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 6″ (12 × 14 cm) 
8/3/2025 · Saco Heath Preserve, Saco, Maine · ≈ 2½ × 3″ (6.1 × 8 cm) 
7/19/2020 · Heath Trail, Cathance River Nature Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4″ (14 × 10 cm) 
8/22/2020 · Kettle Hole Bog, Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Maine · ≈ 3 × 2½″ (7.5 × 6.9 cm) 
8/16/2020 · Long Reach Preserve, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 2½ × 2″ (6.3 × 5.5 cm) 
9/28/2013 · Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 15 cm) 
8/22/2020 · Kettle Hole Bog, Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Maine · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 15 cm) 
The leaves are bog Labrador tea (Ledum groenlandicum), not part of the sedge. · 8/22/2020 · Kettle Hole Bog, Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Maine · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 20 cm) 
9/16/2020 · Cathance River Nature Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 3½ × 4″ (9.4 × 11 cm) 
7/19/2020 · Heath Trail, Cathance River Nature Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9.2 cm) 
7/19/2020 · Heath Trail, Cathance River Nature Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm) 
8/16/2020 · Long Reach Preserve, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 6 × 5″ (14 × 12 cm) 
8/3/2025 · Saco Heath Preserve, Saco, Maine · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (12 × 9.6 cm) 
7/19/2020 · Heath Trail, Cathance River Nature Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 10 cm) 
9/28/2013 · Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 19 cm) 
9/28/2013 · Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 10 cm) 
8/16/2020 · Long Reach Preserve, Harpswell, Maine 
8/16/2020 · Long Reach Preserve, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 3 × 4″ (7.8 × 11 cm) 
10/8/2016 · Groton Town Forest, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 3½ × 3″ (9.6 × 8.4 cm) 
8/22/2020 · Kettle Hole Bog, Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Maine · ≈ 6 × 9″ (16 × 22 cm) 
7/15/2020 · Cathance River Nature Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 4 × 6″ (11 × 16 cm) 
8/22/2020 · Kettle Hole Bog, Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 6″ (11 × 14 cm) 
9/28/2013 · Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 19 cm) 
7/15/2020 · Cathance River Nature Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 4 × 4½″ (11 × 11 cm) 
9/16/2016 · Sieur de Monts Botanical Gardens, Bar Harbor, Maine 
7/19/2020 · Heath Trail, Cathance River Nature Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9.2 cm) 
5/22/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 1 × 1½′ (35 × 49 cm) 
9/28/2013 · Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 10 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Liliopsida | Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family |
| Subclass | Commelinidae | Dayflowers and spiderworts, and several others |
| Order | Cyperales | Flowering plants including grasses |
| Family | Cyperaceae | Sedge family |
| Genus | Eriophorum | Wool-bearing |
| Species | virginicum | From or referring to Virginia |
Eriophorum virginicum description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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