218 THE STORY OF PLANT LIFE 
below. The long leaves are recurved and withered 
at the base, and are lanceolate and striate. The 
later leaves clasp the stem and taper to a point, being 
convex below, concave above, and the extremity is 
triquetrous. 
Two or three bracts form a sheath below. 
The flowers are cymose, on smooth peduncles, 
several spikes being borne on one head, the glumes 
membranous and oblong. The long bristles form a 
cotton. The seeds are enclosed in triquetrous nuts, 
and are obovoid. 
The Cotton Grass is about 18 in. in height. May 
and June are the months when it is usually in flower. 
The flowers are bisexual and pollinated by the 
wind. There are three stamens and the anthers are 
erect. The style is as long as the perianth, at length 
falling. The three stigmas are reflexed. 
When pollination has taken place the bristles of 
the perianth lengthen. The flowers are approximate. 
The nuts, being provided with a fringe of hairs— 
the cotton—are dispersed by the aid of the wind. 
The Cotton Grass goes by the name of Cat’s Tail, 
Sniddle, Flocks, Moorgrass. Several sedges are also 
called Sniddle. 
Pillows were formerly lined with the cotton, as long 
ago as Pliny’s day. 
Dress material and paper have been made from 
the cotton. 
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