Bog plants
Bog plants as described here are plants that are associated with the acidic conditions of deeper peat. Dwarf shrubs such as bilberry, common cottongrass and bog moss (Sphagnum) tend to predominate in these conditions. These are accompanied by occasional sedges, such as star sedge, rushes and purple moor-grass.
Virtually all bog habitats in the National Park are blanket bogs. Blanket bogs of the Yorkshire Dales National Park have been divided into four types depending on their species composition. These are:
1. the species-poor cottongrass bog
2. the heather-cottongrass bog
3. the bog moss-rich bogs
4. the drier dwarf shrub-Cladonia lichen bogs.
As well as blanket bog there are small areas of raised bogs in the Yorkshire Dales.
1. Species-poor cottongrass bogs are dominated by tussocks of hare’s-tail cottongrass. It usually has some bog moss (Sphagnum capillifolium and S. papillosum) and some dwarf shrubs present.
2. Heather-cottongrass bog is more species-rich than the previous type. It is also dominated by hare’s-tail cottongrass and heather, but it usually has the addition of common cottongrass, more Sphagnum moss in the wetter areas, more bilberry and sometimes the addition of cowberry and cloudberry.
3. Bog moss-rich bogs present the most species-rich bog plant communities in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. This type of bog is wetter than those already mentioned and, as the name suggests, they are dominated by the Sphagnum mosses. They are also the stronghold in the national park for specialised bog plants such as cranberry, the bog asphodel lily and the carnivorous plant round-leaved sundew. Where raised bogs occur in the Dales their flora is similar to bog-moss-rich bogs.
4. Drier dwarf shrub-Cladonia lichen bogs, as the name suggests, are dominated by the dwarf shrubs bilberry, heather and the lichen Cladonia with occasional cowberry and cloudberry. These conditions are too dry for bog mosses.
To find out more about bog plant species in the Yokshire Dales please follow the links provided.
Sources of information:
Jones & Roberts (1998) A key to plants common on moorlands Field Studies Council. Fold-out chart available from the Field Studies Council or Tel: 01743 852140.
