slender cottongrass

Eriophorum gracile is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is known by the common name slender cottongrass, or slender cottonsedge. Eriophorum gracile is a plant with circumboreal distribution, extending south into mountain ranges of the Northern Hemisphere. It grows in wet areas such as bogs.

Eriophorum gracile is a thin, tall perennial herb with a slender, rounded, solid, mostly naked stem reaching 30 to 60 cm (12 to 24 in) in height. It produces a fluffy inflorescence atop its stem with a wispy, cottony white flower. The plants grow in colonies, often spreading vegetatively by rhizome.