I have seen a few videos of people using an interesting friction-fire technique, and a couple of them called it a "fire roll." To do this, they fluffed up a cotton ball, put something in it such as ashes, rolled it up in their hands into a worm-like strand, then they very vigorously rolled it back and forth between two wood boards. It did not take long at all, looked fairly easy, and they got a fire started.
While this is cool, it was done with household items (2x4, cotton balls). Is it possible to transfer this technique to wild foraged resources? Obviously, use split wood that you collect instead of 2x4s, and use the smoothest wood you can split so it doesn't catch. But what about a cotton ball substitute? And the ashes that were put into the cotton ball to provide increased friction?
Yes, ashes we can grab from a previous fire if we have had one, but it would be nice if we can find a substitute for that too in case you have not had a previous fire.
Are there any natural resources that can be foraged that can be used in a "fire roll" friction-fire technique?
The cotton ball replacement is the most important part of this question. And yes, I know that cotton comes from a plant, but I am not sure if this will work with raw cotton, and cotton does not grow in the north. Also, it would be preferable, though not necessary, if we could get an affirmative answer that lists a general way to process many plants to do this.
