Eriophorum latifolium

Photo © Carl Farmer
29 Jun 2003 Suardal

Occasional in moorland flushed with alkaline water. Typical companion species are Tawny Sedge, Dioecious Sedge, Few-flowered Spike-rush and Long-stalked Yellow Sedge.

Plant typically 25-45 cm tall. Glumes 4-5 mm. Cottony heads c 1-3 cm long.

Skye ID: If has multiple cottony flowerheads per stem then has to be this species or the much commoner Narrow-leaved Bog-cotton. The differences are that our species has:

Glumes 4-5 mm rather than 6-8 mm
Glumes blackish rather than pale brown
Glumes with very narrow papery margin, not a broad one
Spikes on stalks that look and feel minutely rough, with short hairs.
Sheath of topmost leaf tight-fitting
Leaves flat (except near tip), not channelled
Stem triangular (though with rounded edges) in cross-section, not nearly circular

Despite all these differences the two are hard to tell apart at any distance. The best way to find this plant is to locate suitable habitat and then examine specimens.

Other features: Leaves triangular at tip, in common with Narrow-leaved B-C. The stalks of the spikes are sometimes branched, which does not happen in Narrow-leaved.

Above: showing the black glumes

Right: second leaf from top of stem

Skye Flora