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Pictured: Eriophorum vaginatum — the species. This variety isn’t separately illustrated.
Cyperaceae family

Tussock Cottongrass (var. spissum) Eriophorum vaginatum var. spissum variety

Native

Tussock Cottongrass (var. spissum) is a perennial grass native to Alaska, Canada, and Greenland.

More about this plant

Eriophorum vaginatum is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae. It occurs throughout the subarctic and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It prefers wet, acidic, peaty soil and is often dominant in bogs, poor fens, and the Arctic tundra regions of northern Russia and Canada. The specific epithet vaginatum, which means "having a sheath", refers to an important character used to recognize this species. Both the scientific name Eriophorum vaginatum and the common name sheathed cottonsedge emphasize this fact. In Britain and Ireland, the species is referred to as hare's-tail cottongrass. The name tussock cottongrass gained in popularity after its publication in Flora of North America in 2002. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 5 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Herb layer — Sits in the herb of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~1 caterpillar species

Eriophorum supports ~1 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a modest genus.

Recorded feeding on Eriophorum in North America, including:

Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (13) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[06] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[07] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[08] Conservation rank — NatureServe Explorer (CC BY)
[09] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[11] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[12] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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