Cotton Grass

If you are anywhere near a peat bog in spring, you will see what looks like tufts of cotton wool swaying in the wind. This is cotton grass, or bog cotton, which isn't really a grass at all, but a type of sedge. The "cotton" is made of long white hairs that help the seeds to disperse in the wind.

Cotton grass been used in the past for making candle wicks, stuffing pillows and even dressing wounds. Cotton grass also provides food for at least two National Park residents - the large heath butterfly and black grouse.