noun
cattail cotton; bulrush down
The fluffy seed fibers of cattails (Typha) or similar plants, used historically as tinder or stuffing.
穂綿を集めて枕に詰めた。
They gathered cattail fluff and stuffed it into a pillow.
昔は穂綿を火口として使った。
In the past, cattail cotton was used as tinder.
Compound of 穂 (ho, 'ear/head of a plant') and 綿 (wata, 'cotton'), referring to the cotton-like fluff from plant spikes.