flotant (flow tawnt=)

Flotant:  Floating marsh suspended in the water and found in Louisiana. It consists of tightly entangled plants and their roots, mixed with peat; typically there is water flowing below it.

“When Hurricane Andrew blew through south Louisiana, it passed over some of the best flotant marsh zones in the state.  In some areas, terrible damage occurred.  The flotant was ripped from the shore and the storm winds pushed it across the water where it bunched up in folds on the other shore.  It looked like your bed spread does when you kick your covers off during the night and they bunch up at the foot of the bed.  We thought that this would be devastating, but over the next couple of years the flotant spread back out and reunited with the other shore.  Most of these marshes look today like they did before the hurricane.” from Flotant Marsh

Imagine! A marsh bunched up like a bedspread…

Restoration structures for a flotant marsh. These serve as initial growing platforms for marsh vegetation. This project was at Mandalay NWR in Louisiana.
http://www.fws.gov/southeastlouisiana/habitat_mgt.html