The dense, woolly-white, spherical, 2 to 3 centimetre large spikelets are the distinctive feature of the white cottongrass.
White cottongrass grows on acid wet soil and can thus be found only near small lakes, small bodies of water and low-moor bogs. With its long runners it contributes to the silting up of bodies of water. The protected flower blooms in summer from June to July.
