Cottonweeds

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Low silvery-grey wild herbs with woolly, downy foliage that grow in dunes and on sandy coasts
2. Downy-leaved plants of the daisy family, typically found on seashores and whose leaves look covered in fine white fuzz
3. Woolly herbaceous plants of the aster family that thrive in sandy coastal habitats and display a pale, felted appearance

Etymology: "Cottonweeds" is the plural of "cottonweed," a noun. The singular is a compound of "cotton" and "weed," where "cotton" refers to the soft, fibrous down that surrounds the seeds of the plant and "weed" is an old English word for a plant, especially one growing where it is not wanted. The name describes the fluffy seed masses that drift from the plant in late summer, which resemble the cotton fibres grown for cloth.