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Bogs

First Steps: get to know your wild flowers First Steps: get to know your wild flowers Bogs Bogs are very wet, peaty places, with little dry hummocks of heather lying between pools of still water, often covered by colourful mosses. The unusual feature of bogs is that they are so wet and so poor in nutrients that dead don’t decompose. These dead plants can accumulate to great depth, storing away large amounts of waterlogged, carbon-rich matter. Bogs can be many metres deep, but the live vegetation forms only a very thin skin on top. The plants of bogs are fairly unique and are well adapted to survive conditions that are unfavourable for many plants. Flowering time: plants are best seen from late spring to late summer.

Cross-leaved Heath ( Erica Hare’s-tail -grass tetralix ) – A small shrub with ( vaginatum ) – grey-green, needle-like leaves Forms tussocks of long, narrow, arranged in whorls of four up grass-like leaves. The the stem. The flowerhead at flowerhead is a single fluffy the tip of the stalk is a cluster white ball on an upright spike. of small, rosy pink bells. It is found in the wetter It grows on the drier parts of bogs. parts of heaths and bogs. Location: Location: Date: Date: Bog Myrtle ( ) – A Heather, or Ling ( Calluna bushy shrub with reddish, vulgaris ) – A bushy shrub with upright twigs and narrow, oval, small, needle-like leaves grey-green leaves, looking like pressed close to the stem. a small willow. Some plants Flowers are small, pink-purple may have reddish-brown bells, and line the tips of the catkins. The leaves have a distinctive antiseptic smell leafy spikes. The most common upland shrub. when crushed. Location: Location: Date: Date:

Common Cotton-grass Sundew ( Drosera ) – A (Eriophorum angustifolium ) very small with a rosette – Forms spreading patches of of rounded pale green leaves long, narrow, grass-like leaves fringed with sticky red hairs. A with wine-coloured tips. The thin leafless stalk bears small flowerhead is a cluster of white flowers with five or six drooping white cottony hairs on the end of an upright petals. The sticky leaves trap and digest small insects. stem. It grows in wet bogs and pools. Location: Location: Date: Date: If you enjoyed this and are interested in learning more about our wild plants then join in with Wildflowers Count – contact us at the Plantlife office or through our website for Plantlife Scotland more details.

Balallan House Plantlife Scotland is part of Plantlife International – The Wild Plant Conservation Allan Park Charity, a charitable company limited by guarantee. Charity registered in England and Wales Number: 1059559 Stirling Charity registered in Scotland Number: SCO38951 FK8 2QG Registered Company Number: 3166339, registered in England Tel: 01786 469778/478509 A Places for Plants and People project , supported by:

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