Flora
Erica Cinerea or Bell Heather
This is one of the plants most frequently found on the acid peaty soils of Irish bogs and mountains. Its common name 'Bell Heather' is derived from its bell-shaped flowers.
Erica Cinerea or Bell Heather
Erica Cinerea or Bell Heather
This is one of the plants most frequently found on the acid peaty soils of Irish bogs and mountains. Its common name 'Bell Heather' is derived from its bell-shaped flowers.
Bell heather, or Erica cinerea, is one of the most common plants found on the acid peaty soils of Irish bogs and mountains. Its common name, bell heather, comes from the bell shape of its flowers.
An Inhospitable Habitat
Boglands have a low-nutrient soil and are waterlogged most of the time. The plants that grow on this inhospitable soil are specially adapted to these conditions.
Bog Flora
Blanket bogs are relatively thin as opposed to the deeper raised bogs and grasses and mosses provide the greatest ground cover.
Bog Flora
Bog Flora
Blanket bogs are relatively thin as opposed to the deeper raised bogs and grasses and mosses provide the greatest ground cover.
The most common plants are Sphagnum mosses, bog cotton, heathers, purple moor grasses and black bog rushes. One very interesting plant is butterwort. Butterwort is an insectivorous plant, which means it attracts and eats insects.
The bog cotton provides masses of fluffy white heads in late spring and summer. In late summer and autumn, the pink and purple carpet of heathers covers the upland slopes and valleys of the hills.
Fauna
Bogland close to Allenwood
A piece of bogland near Allenwood.
Courtesy of Dr. Arnold Horner.Bogland close to Allenwood
Courtesy of Dr. Arnold Horner.
Courtesy of Dr. Arnold Horner.
Bogland close to Allenwood
A piece of bogland near Allenwood.
Courtesy of Dr. Arnold Horner.Boglands are not the most welcoming habitats for many types of animals, birds and insects. This is because boglands are wet and have little food or cover, such as trees.
However, boglands are still home to various animals that like that environment. Birds like the snipe, curlew, skylark and kestral nest in the safety of boglands. The fox, deer, hare and otter live there too. Frogs are plentiful.
Dragonflies, craneflies, moths and butterflies are among the insects that like this habitat.