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Common Cottongrass (Bog Cotton)

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Eriophorum angustifolium

Fluffy white tufts dance over Irish bogs in early summer — like little balls of cotton wool. People once stuffed pillows with it!

Height

60 cm

Blooms

May–Jun

Family

Sedge (Cyperaceae)

Latin name

Eriophorum angustifolium

Where to find

Where you can find Common Cottongrass (Bog Cotton) in Ireland

Connemara National Park — County Galway: Wild Atlantic mountains, blanket bogs and twinkling lakes. Look for purple heather and yellow bog asphodel in summer, and Atlantic-fringe plants like sundews and butterworts.
Glenveagh National Park — County Donegal: Mountains, glens and one of Ireland's largest red deer herds. Heather paints the slopes purple in late summer, while bog cotton dances over the wet ground.
Wicklow Mountains National Park — County Wicklow: Ireland's largest national park, just south of Dublin. Heather-clad mountains, deep valleys with foxgloves and bog-loving sundews and butterworts.
Wild Nephin National Park — County Mayo: A vast wild bog and mountain wilderness on the west coast. One of Europe's largest blanket bogs — perfect for finding sundews, butterworts and bog cotton.