Cyperaceae

Eriophorum chamissonis

Russet Cotton-Grass

Stems erect from runners, triangular, solid, longer than leaves. Leaves narrow, becoming wider and wrapping around stem at base, ending in a sharp point. Inflorescence is a single spikelet with numerous, large, silky, white to brown bristles held upright, 3–5 times as long as the purplish brown scales holding them. Grows in bogs, wet meadows. Eriophorum angustifolium subsp. scabriusculum, narrow-leaved cotton-grass, with several spikelets of white bristles in a loose cluster on nodding stalks, is more common in subalpine wet meadows at Mount Rainier.

• Rarity: Locally Common
• Flowering Time: All Summer
• Life Cycle: Perennial
• Height: 4--30 inches
• Habitat: Bog/Fen/Wetland
• Found In: Olympic Np, N Cascades Np
• Native: Yes