Cotton grasses

Cotton grasses

The most conspicuous plants on the heather moors are cotton grasses. Narrow-leaved cottongrass (Eriophorum angustifolium) and vaginal cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum) grow in the Senne. They can be seen from afar. Hikers usually do not see other moors plants in the small moors of the Senne, as they are very sensitive habitats and should not be entered.

A characteristic feature of the cotton grasses are their white, woolly pods, which can be seen in June. The flowers are inconspicuous “grass flowers”. The petals are thin threads that elongate after flowering; the threads of all 50 or so flowers of an inflorescence result in a tuft of wool. With narrow-leaved cottongrass, several wool heads sit on a stalk, with sheath cottongrass there is only one.