Bog cotton/ Cotton grass

Description:

They are herbaceous perennial plants with slender, grass-like leaves. The seed heads are covered in a fluffy mass of cotton which are carried on the wind to aid dispersal. In cold Arctic regions, these masses of translucent fibres also serve as 'feather-like down' – increasing the temperature of the reproductive organs during the Arctic summer by trapping solar radiation.

Habitat:

They are found throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere in acid bog habitats, being particularly abundant in Arctic tundra regions. These were in Hermaness, Unst.