Woolgrass Seeds (Scirpus cyperinus)

How can shallow, muddy, sometimes polluted ground give rise to something as beautiful as this?

Woolgrass is a clumping wetland emergent species, an elaborate, pendulous cottony/wooly plant-soul, an excellent bird plant, one that feeds numerous waterfowl with its abundant seeds (and the many tiny insects feeding upon those seeds), while also providing soft, nest-ready foliage for various small ground-nesting shorebirds such as sandpipers and rails.

Rising up to more than 5-feet in height (although often much shorter), woolgrass shows up in scattered wetland locations across much of North America. It tends to occur in the shallow mud zones where water meets land, spreading around a bit via slow-growing rhizomes where it finds conditions favorable. A striking and unique plant for bioswales and water gardens.

1000+ seeds (0.3 grams).