Flora of Ireland
Encyclopedia
Ireland
is in the Atlantic European Province of the Circumboreal Region
a floristic region within the Holarctic
.
variation and its Ice Age
history. There are 3,815 species of plant
listed for Ireland
:
An additional 2,512 species of fungus
occur in Ireland.
began. The majority of Ireland's flora and fauna
has only returned as the ice sheets retreated and sea level rose accompanied by post-glacial rebound
when 10,000 years ago the climate began to warm. At this time there was a land bridge
connecting Wales
and the east coast of Ireland since sea levels were over 100 metres lower than they are today (water being frozen into the ice caps covering northern Asia and North America). Plants and animals were able to cross this land-bridge until about 7,500 years ago, when it was finally covered by the rising sea level as warming continued.
Mesolithic
hunters entered Ireland around 8000 BC beginning human occupation
and from the
Neolithic
landscape was progressively altered by agriculture, especially in the 19th and 20th centuries. Aside from the
habitat alteration new species were introduced deliberately or accidentally.The archaeologist Emmet Byrnes and botanist Declan Little, Woodlands of Ireland give a history of woodlands in Ireland.
There are two major habitat
s, making up most of the land area:
Lowland meadow and pasture flowers include Meadow Thistle
, Creeping Thistle
, Spear Thistle
, Pignut
, Lesser Knapweed
, Meadow Thistle
, Smooth Hawksbeard, Eyebright, Ragged Robin, Red Bartsia, Yellow Rattle, Marsh Lousewort, Cowslip
, Catsear, Autumn Hawkbit
, Meadow Buttercup, Bulbous Buttercup and Dandelion
s and fens. This compares with 126000 ha (311,352.5 acre) in the United Kingdom
, 500 ha (1,235.5 acre) each in Switzerland
and Germany
and total loss in the Netherlands
and Poland
. In Ireland in 1998 there were 23628 ha (58,386 acre) of raised bog at 164 sites (8% of original area), 143248 ha (353,973.2 acre) of blanket bog
at 233 sites (18% of original area) and 54026 ha (133,501 acre) hectares of fen at 221 sites (58% of original area). These 200,000 hectares of actively growing raised and blanket bogs and fens are of European conservation importance.
) include: Common Heather, Cross-leaved Heath
, Bell Heather
, Bogbean, Hare's-tail Cottongrass
, Common Cottongrass, Bog-Rosemary, Common Cranberry, Bog Asphodel, Bog Myrtle
, Pedicularis sylvatica, Round-leaved Sundew
, Oblong-leaved Sundew
, Great Sundew
, Royal Fern, species of Utricularia, Juncus squarrosus, Common Tormentil, Black Bogrush
, Bog Orchid, Euphrasia scottica, Heath Bedstraw
, Green-ribbed Sedge
, Little Green Sedge, Black Crowberry
, Moor Matgrass
, Soft Rush, Northern Firmoss, Wolf's-foot Clubmoss
.
Cut-out raised bogs are colonised by a wet woodland of birch and alder trees. Characteristic species are Downy Birch, Black Alder, Grey Willow, Crack Willow, Broad Buckler Fern, Narrow Buckler Fern
and Remote Sedge.
A much smaller fraction is occupied by coastal habitats (muddy shores, rocky shores, sandy shores, shingle beaches, brackish water bodies, saltmarsh, maritime flushes and streams, sea cliffs and sand dunes and machair.
Significant or characteristic species of sand dunes and dune slacks are: Ammophila arenaria
, Seaside Sandplant, Sea Milkwort, Pyramidal Orchid, Sea Holly, Sea Lyme Grass
, Heartsease, Houndstongue
, Common Centaury
, Fairy Flax
, Seashore False Bindweed
, Dovesfoot Cranesbill
, Bee Orchid and Stone Bramble
. Saltmarsh species include Salicornia europaea, Sea Purslane
, Sea Arrowgrass, Greater Sea-Spurry
and Common Scurvygrass
.
). Common species of wet places include Common Reed
, Marsh Willowherb, Common Marsh Bedstraw, Water Avens, Angelica, Brooklime
, Marsh Pennywort, Water Plantain
, Marsh Cinquefoil, Marsh Marigold, Watermint, Yellow Water Lily
, Bulrush
and the invasive species Canadian Pondweed.
which is less than 0.5% of the area of Ireland.
and the Burren contains twelve Annex 1 habitats listed in the EU Habitats Directive. A 2001 survey found 28 different species per square meter (averaged over 1,100 vegetation samples) in upland grasslands, with up to 45 species per square metre in some samples. 22 of Ireland's 27 native orchid species are found in the region. Such high diversity has several explanations.Firstly several hundred square kilometers of species-rich unimproved limestone grasslands and upland pastures grazed mainly in winter, a practice which removes potentially dominant grass and weed species.Secondly there is a mixture of Arctic-alpine
and Mediterranean species, and calcicole
and calcifuge
species. The area is dominated by bare rock and rendzina
soils.
Woodland plants include Wood Sorrel
, Blackthorn
, Bird's Nest Orchid, Wood Anemone
, Bluebell
, Wood Avens
, Bugle
, Ramsons
, Self-heal
, Dog Violet
, Honeysuckle, Holly, Lords and Ladies
, Herb Robert
and Woody Nightshade.Woods dominated by oak and birch, with lesser amounts of rowan, holly, hazel, yew and aspen are called Western Oakwoods and occur principally in the uplands of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They are temperate rainforests.
, Creeping Buttercup
, Common Daisy, Catsear
, Coltsfoot
, Fat Hen
, Nettle
, Redshank, Germander Speedwell, Ivy-leaved Toadflax
, Rosebay Willowherb, Great Willowherb
and Wall Pennywort
.
Julie A. Fossitt gives a habitat classification.
. Conservation agencies include the National Parks and Wildlife Service (Ireland), the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency the Irish Peatland Conservation Council
and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
. There is a Threatened Species Programme at the National Botanic Gardens.
.
Geography of Ireland
Ireland is an island in northwest Europe in the north Atlantic Ocean whose main geographical features include low central plains surrounded by a ring of coastal mountains. The highest peak is Carrauntoohil , which is above sea level. The western coastline is rugged, with many islands, peninsulas,...
is in the Atlantic European Province of the Circumboreal Region
Circumboreal Region
The Circumboreal Region is a floristic region within the Holarctic Kingdom in Eurasia and North America, as delineated by such geobotanists as Josias Braun-Blanquet and Armen Takhtajan....
a floristic region within the Holarctic
Holarctic
The Holarctic ecozone refers to the habitats found throughout the northern continents of the world as a whole. This region is divided into the Palearctic, consisting of Northern Africa and all of Eurasia, with the exception of Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, and the Nearctic,...
.
Composition of the Flora
Ireland has a small flora for a European country because of its small size and lack of geological and ecologicalEcology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
variation and its Ice Age
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
history. There are 3,815 species of plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
listed for Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
:
- Phylum Anthocerotophyta – hornworts: 3 species
- Phylum BryophytaMossMosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
– mosses: 556 species - Phylum CharophytaCharophytaThe Charophyta are a division of green algae, including the closest relatives of the embryophyte plants. In some groups, such as conjugating green algae, flagellate cells do not occur. The latter group does engage in sexual reproduction, and motility does not involve flagella, since they are...
– charophytes: 244 species - Phylum ChlorophytaChlorophytaChlorophyta is a division of green algae, informally called chlorophytes. The name is used in two very different senses so that care is needed to determine the use by a particular author...
– green algae: 148 species - Phylum LycopodiophytaLycopodiophytaThe Division Lycopodiophyta is a tracheophyte subdivision of the Kingdom Plantae. It is the oldest extant vascular plant division at around 410 million years old, and includes some of the most "primitive" extant species...
– clubmosses: 9 species - Phylum Magnoliophyta – flowering plants: 2,196 species
- Phylum MarchantiophytaMarchantiophytaThe Marchantiophyta are a division of bryophyte plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like other bryophytes, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of genetic information....
– liverworts: 229 species - Phylum PinophytaPinophytaThe conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferophyta or Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. Pinophytes are gymnosperms. They are cone-bearing seed plants with vascular tissue; all extant conifers are woody plants, the great majority being...
– pines: 12 species - Phylum Pteridophyta – ferns: 79 species
- Phylum Rhodophyta – red algae: 339 species
An additional 2,512 species of fungus
Fungus
A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
occur in Ireland.
- Phylum AcrasiomycotaAcrasiomycotaAcrasidae is a family of slime molds which belongs to the protist group Percolozoa. The name acrasio- comes from the Greek Akrasia, meaning "acting against one's judgement." This group consists of cellular slime molds....
– cellular slime molds: 1 species - Phylum AscomycotaAscomycotaThe Ascomycota are a Division/Phylum of the kingdom Fungi, and subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the Sac fungi. They are the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species...
– sac fungi: 1,115 species - Phylum BasidiomycotaBasidiomycotaBasidiomycota is one of two large phyla that, together with the Ascomycota, comprise the subkingdom Dikarya within the Kingdom Fungi...
– club fungi, mushrooms, shelf fungi, puff balls: 1,228 species - Phylum ChytridiomycotaChytridiomycotaChytridiomycota is a division of the Fungi kingdom. The name is derived from the Greek chytridion, meaning "little pot", describing the structure containing unreleased spores. In older classifications, chytrids were placed in the Class Phycomycetes under the subdivision Myxomycophyta of the...
– chytrids: 4 species - Phylum MicrosporidiaMicrosporidiaThe microsporidia constitute a phylum of spore-forming unicellular parasites. They were once thought to be protists but are now known to be fungi. Loosely 1500 of the probably more than one million species are named now. Microsporidia are restricted to animal hosts, and all major groups of animals...
– 1 species - Phylum Myxomycota – plasmodial slime moulds: 112 species
- Phylum Oomycota – water moulds: 40 species
- Phylum ZygomycotaZygomycotaZygomycota, or zygote fungi, is a phylum of fungi. The name comes from zygosporangia, where resistant spherical spores are formed during sexual reproduction. Approximately 1060 species are known. They are mostly terrestrial in habitat, living in soil or on decaying plant or animal material...
– pin or sugar moulds: 11 species
History of the flora: after the Pleistocene
Ice-sheets covered most of Ireland until 13,000 years ago when the HoloceneHolocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
began. The majority of Ireland's flora and fauna
Fauna of Ireland
The fauna of Ireland comprises all the animal species inhabiting the island and surrounding waters.-Mammals:Only 26 land mammal species are native to Ireland, because it was isolated from the European mainland by rising sea levels after the Midlandian Ice Age...
has only returned as the ice sheets retreated and sea level rose accompanied by post-glacial rebound
Post-glacial rebound
Post-glacial rebound is the rise of land masses that were depressed by the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, through a process known as isostasy...
when 10,000 years ago the climate began to warm. At this time there was a land bridge
Land bridge
A land bridge, in biogeography, is an isthmus or wider land connection between otherwise separate areas, over which animals and plants are able to cross and colonise new lands...
connecting Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and the east coast of Ireland since sea levels were over 100 metres lower than they are today (water being frozen into the ice caps covering northern Asia and North America). Plants and animals were able to cross this land-bridge until about 7,500 years ago, when it was finally covered by the rising sea level as warming continued.
Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
hunters entered Ireland around 8000 BC beginning human occupation
Prehistoric Ireland
The prehistory of Ireland has been pieced together from archaeological and genetic evidence; it begins with the first evidence of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers settling in Ireland around 7000 BC and finishes with the start of the historical record, around AD 400. The prehistoric period covers the...
and from the
Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
landscape was progressively altered by agriculture, especially in the 19th and 20th centuries. Aside from the
habitat alteration new species were introduced deliberately or accidentally.The archaeologist Emmet Byrnes and botanist Declan Little, Woodlands of Ireland give a history of woodlands in Ireland.
Habitats
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s, making up most of the land area:
Grassland
Grassland includes- Lowland meadow and pasture with grasses such as Sweet Vernal GrassAnthoxanthum odoratum-Introduction:Anthoxanthum odoratum, known as sweet vernal grass, holy grass, vanilla grass or buffalo grass, is a short-lived grass found wild in acidic grassland in Eurasia. It is also grown as a lawn grass and a house plant, due to its sweet scent, and can also be found on unimproved pastures...
, Perennial RyegrassLolium perenneLolium perenne, common name Perennial Ryegrass, is a grass from the family Poaceae. It is native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa, but is widely cultivated and naturalised around the world.-Description:...
, Meadow Foxtail, False Oat-grassArrhenatherum elatius-Introduction:Arrhenatherum elatius, with the common names false oat-grass, tall oat-grass, tall meadow oat, onion couch and tuber oat-grass, is a perennial species of grass, common in the temperate regions of Europe....
, Crested Dog's-tailCynosurus cristatus-Introduction:Crested Dog’s-tail is an ornamental plant, but also found in the wild typically in species rich grassland. It is a perennial short-lived plant characterised by a seed head that is flat on one side. It thrives in a variety of soil types but avoids the acid and calcerous extremes of...
, Festuca rubraFestuca rubraFestuca rubra is a species of grass known by the common name red fescue. It is found worldwide and can tolerate many habitats and climates; it generally needs full sun to thrive...
, Red FescueFestuca pratensisFestuca pratensis, the Meadow fescue, Festuca pratensis, the Meadow fescue, Festuca pratensis, the Meadow fescue, ( syn. Bromus pratensis (Huds.) Spreng., Bucetum pratense (Huds.) Parn., Festuca fluitans L. var. pratensis (Huds.) Huds., Festuca elatior L. subsp. pratensis (Huds.) Hack., Lolium...
, Downy Oat-grass, Yorkshire Fog, Timothy Grass and Yellow Oat-grassTrisetum flavescensTrisetum flavescens is a species of grass in the Poaceae family. It is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. It can be found elsewhere, such as sections of North America, where it was introduced as a rangeland grass for grazing. It now exists in the wild as a common weed...
.
Lowland meadow and pasture flowers include Meadow Thistle
Cirsium dissectum
Cirsium dissectum, also known as Meadow Thistle, is an erect perennial herb. It is found in England, Wales, Ireland, from western France to the Netherlands, and Germany. It is found in fens and less acidic peat bogs i.e. it prefers damp boggy areas....
, Creeping Thistle
Cirsium arvense
Cirsium arvense is a species of Cirsium, native throughout Europe and northern Asia, and widely introduced elsewhere. The standard English name in its native area is Creeping Thistle.-Alternate names:...
, Spear Thistle
Cirsium vulgare
Cirsium vulgare is a species of the genus Cirsium, native throughout most of Europe , western Asia , and northwestern Africa...
, Pignut
Conopodium majus
Conopodium majus is a small perennial herb, whose underground part resembles a chestnut and is sometimes eaten as a wild or cultivated root vegetable....
, Lesser Knapweed
Centaurea nigra
Centaurea nigra is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common names Lesser Knapweed, Common Knapweed and Black Knapweed...
, Meadow Thistle
Cirsium dissectum
Cirsium dissectum, also known as Meadow Thistle, is an erect perennial herb. It is found in England, Wales, Ireland, from western France to the Netherlands, and Germany. It is found in fens and less acidic peat bogs i.e. it prefers damp boggy areas....
, Smooth Hawksbeard, Eyebright, Ragged Robin, Red Bartsia, Yellow Rattle, Marsh Lousewort, Cowslip
Primula veris
Primula veris is a flowering plant in the genus Primula. The species is found throughout most of temperate Europe and Asia, and although absent from more northerly areas including much of northwest Scotland, it reappears in northernmost Sutherland and Orkney.-Names:The common name cowslip derives...
, Catsear, Autumn Hawkbit
Leontodon autumnalis
Leontodon autumnalis is a plant species in the genus Leontodon. It is widespread in its native range in Eurasia , and has been introduced in North America. The fly Tephritis leontodontis is known to attack the capitula of this plant....
, Meadow Buttercup, Bulbous Buttercup and Dandelion
Taraxacum officinale
Taraxacum officinale, the common dandelion , is a herbaceous perennial plant of the family Asteraceae . It can be found growing in temperate regions of the world, in lawns, on roadsides, on disturbed banks and shores of water ways, and other areas with moist soils. T...
- Upland pasture (mostly semi-natural, that is maintained by particular farming practices such as grazing and mowing).Typical species are: Moor MatgrassNardus strictaNardus stricta is a densely tufted, tough, wiry perennial plant species belonging to the family Poaceae , and found throughout much of the world. It exists on heath, moorland, hills, mountains; on sandy to peaty soils...
, Wavy Hair-grassDeschampsia flexuosa-Introduction:Deschampsia flexuosa Trin. or Wavy Hair-grass is a species of bunchgrass in the Poaceae family with a Holarctic distribution.-Habitat and distribution:...
, species of AgrostisAgrostisAgrostis is a genus of over 100 species belonging to the grass family Poaceae, commonly referred to as the bent grasses...
, Sheep's Fescue, Green-ribbed SedgeCarex binervisCarex binervis, the green-ribbed sedge, is a European species of sedge with an Atlantic distribution. It is found from Fennoscandia to the Iberian Peninsula, and occurs in heaths, moorland and other damp, acidic environments. It typically grows to a height of , and has inflorescences comprising one...
, Cross-leaved HeathErica tetralixErica tetralix is a species of heather found in Atlantic areas of Europe, from southern Portugal to central Norway, as well as a number of boggy regions further from the coast in Central Europe. In bogs, wet heaths and damp coniferous woodland, Erica tetralix can become a dominant part of the flora...
, Bell HeatherErica cinereaErica cinerea is a species of heather, native to western and central Europe. It is a low shrub growing to tall, with fine needle-like leaves long arranged in whorls of three...
, BilberryVaccinium myrtillusVaccinium myrtillus is an almost Holarctic species of shrub with edible fruit, usually simply referred to as "bilberry" or "whortleberry". It is more precidely called Common Bilberry or Blue Whortleberry, to distinguish it from its Vaccinium relatives...
, Black CrowberryEmpetrum nigrumEmpetrum nigrum is a species of crowberry known as black crowberry which is native to most northern areas of the northern hemisphere, as well as the Falkland Islands in the southern hemisphere....
, Deergrass and Bog Asphodel.
Importance
Ireland possesses almost 200000 hectares (494,210.3 acre) of actively growing bogBog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
s and fens. This compares with 126000 ha (311,352.5 acre) in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, 500 ha (1,235.5 acre) each in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and total loss in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. In Ireland in 1998 there were 23628 ha (58,386 acre) of raised bog at 164 sites (8% of original area), 143248 ha (353,973.2 acre) of blanket bog
Blanket bog
Blanket bog or blanket mire is an area of peatland, forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration, allowing peat to develop not only in wet hollows but over large expanses of undulating ground. The blanketing of the ground with a variable depth of peat...
at 233 sites (18% of original area) and 54026 ha (133,501 acre) hectares of fen at 221 sites (58% of original area). These 200,000 hectares of actively growing raised and blanket bogs and fens are of European conservation importance.
Formation
In Ireland two factors led to the formation of such extensive peatlands. High rainfall- there are 175 rain-days each year in the west, southwest and northwest of Ireland and poor drainage The bogs formed at the end of the last ice age, about 10,000 years ago in the central lowlands of Ireland in basins of calcareous boulder clay. These became lakes overgrown with fen vegetation and infilled with fen peat which cut off the surface plants from mineral-rich water below. Nutrient-demanding fen plants were then replaced by bog mosses and plants which could survive on low levels of nutrients. The fen peat below prevented the rainwater draining away and the sponge-like bog moss and plants soaked it up.Bog flora
The vascular plants characteristic of raised bogs (an example is the Bog of AllenBog of Allen
The Bog of Allen is a large raised bog in the centre of Ireland between the rivers Liffey and Shannon.The bog's 958 square kilometers stretch into County Offaly, County Meath, County Kildare, County Laois, and County Westmeath. Peat is mechanically harvested on a large scale by Bórd na Móna,...
) include: Common Heather, Cross-leaved Heath
Erica tetralix
Erica tetralix is a species of heather found in Atlantic areas of Europe, from southern Portugal to central Norway, as well as a number of boggy regions further from the coast in Central Europe. In bogs, wet heaths and damp coniferous woodland, Erica tetralix can become a dominant part of the flora...
, Bell Heather
Erica cinerea
Erica cinerea is a species of heather, native to western and central Europe. It is a low shrub growing to tall, with fine needle-like leaves long arranged in whorls of three...
, Bogbean, Hare's-tail Cottongrass
Eriophorum vaginatum
Eriophorum vaginatum L. is a species of perennial herbaceous plants in the family Cyperaceae, native to bogs and other acidic wetlands throughout the Holarctic Kingdom. It is a 30-60 cm high tussock-forming plant with erect solitary spikelets.-External links:* in Flora of North America*...
, Common Cottongrass, Bog-Rosemary, Common Cranberry, Bog Asphodel, Bog Myrtle
Myrica gale
Myrica gale is a species of flowering plant in the genus Myrica, native to northern and western Europe and parts of northern North America. It is a deciduous shrub growing to 1–2 m tall. Common names include Bog Myrtle and Sweet Gale...
, Pedicularis sylvatica, Round-leaved Sundew
Drosera rotundifolia
Drosera rotundifolia is a species of sundew, a carnivorous plant often found in bogs, marshes and fens...
, Oblong-leaved Sundew
Drosera intermedia
Drosera intermedia, commonly known as the oblong-leaved sundew or spoonleaf sundew, is an insectivorous plant species belonging to the sundew genus. It is a temperate or tropical species native to Europe, southeastern Canada, the eastern half of the United States, Cuba and northern South America.-...
, Great Sundew
Drosera anglica
Drosera anglica, commonly known as the English sundew or Great sundew, is a carnivorous plant species belonging to the sundew genus. It is a temperate species with a generally circumboreal range, although it does occur as far south as Japan, southern Europe, and the island of Kauai in Hawaii, where...
, Royal Fern, species of Utricularia, Juncus squarrosus, Common Tormentil, Black Bogrush
Schoenus nigricans
Schoenus nigricans is a species of sedge known by the common name black bogrush. It is native to Eurasia, parts of Africa, Australia, and southern North America, including Mexico and the southernmost United States. It grows in many types of wetlands and other moist and alkaline habitat, including...
, Bog Orchid, Euphrasia scottica, Heath Bedstraw
Galium saxatile
Galium saxatile or Heath Bedstraw is a plant species of the genus Galium. It is related to Cleavers ....
, Green-ribbed Sedge
Carex binervis
Carex binervis, the green-ribbed sedge, is a European species of sedge with an Atlantic distribution. It is found from Fennoscandia to the Iberian Peninsula, and occurs in heaths, moorland and other damp, acidic environments. It typically grows to a height of , and has inflorescences comprising one...
, Little Green Sedge, Black Crowberry
Empetrum nigrum
Empetrum nigrum is a species of crowberry known as black crowberry which is native to most northern areas of the northern hemisphere, as well as the Falkland Islands in the southern hemisphere....
, Moor Matgrass
Nardus stricta
Nardus stricta is a densely tufted, tough, wiry perennial plant species belonging to the family Poaceae , and found throughout much of the world. It exists on heath, moorland, hills, mountains; on sandy to peaty soils...
, Soft Rush, Northern Firmoss, Wolf's-foot Clubmoss
Lycopodium clavatum
Lycopodium clavatum is the most widespread species in the genus Lycopodium of the clubmoss family Lycopodiaceae....
.
Cut-out raised bogs are colonised by a wet woodland of birch and alder trees. Characteristic species are Downy Birch, Black Alder, Grey Willow, Crack Willow, Broad Buckler Fern, Narrow Buckler Fern
Dryopteris carthusiana
Dryopteris carthusiana H.P. Fuchs is a species of fern native to damp forests throughout the Holarctic Kingdom...
and Remote Sedge.
A much smaller fraction is occupied by coastal habitats (muddy shores, rocky shores, sandy shores, shingle beaches, brackish water bodies, saltmarsh, maritime flushes and streams, sea cliffs and sand dunes and machair.
Significant or characteristic species of sand dunes and dune slacks are: Ammophila arenaria
Ammophila arenaria
Ammophila arenaria is a species of grass known by the common names European Marram Grass and European Beachgrass. It is one of two species of the genus Ammophila . It is native to the coastlines of Europe and North Africa where it grows in the sands of beach dunes. It is a perennial grass forming...
, Seaside Sandplant, Sea Milkwort, Pyramidal Orchid, Sea Holly, Sea Lyme Grass
Leymus arenarius
Leymus arenarius Hochst. is a psammophylic species of grass in the Poaceae family, native to Atlantic, Central and Northern Europe and the coldest shores of North America....
, Heartsease, Houndstongue
Cynoglossum officinale
Cynoglossum officinale is a herbaceous plant of the family Boraginaceae, found in most parts of Europe, and also North America where it was accidentally introduced.-Growth:It can be either annual or biennial, with reddish-purple flowers blooming between May and...
, Common Centaury
Centaurium erythraea
Centaurium erythraea is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family known by the common names common centaury and European centaury. This centaury is a widespread plant of Europe and parts of western Asia and northern Africa. It has also naturalised in parts of North America and throughout...
, Fairy Flax
Linum catharticum
Linum catharticum or Fairy Flax is an herbaceous flowering plant in the genus Linum, native to central Europe and Western Asia. The plant is annual and blooms in July and August....
, Seashore False Bindweed
Calystegia soldanella
The morning glory Calystegia soldanella is a species of bindweed known by the common names seashore false bindweed and beach morning glory...
, Dovesfoot Cranesbill
Geranium molle
Geranium molle, the Dovesfoot Cranesbill, is an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the Geraniaceae family.-Description:Geranium molle is a small plant reaching on average in height. It is a very branched plant, quite hairy, with several ascending stems. The leaves are palmate, cut 5 to 9 times...
, Bee Orchid and Stone Bramble
Rubus saxatilis
Rubus saxatilis or Stone Bramble is a species of bramble found in Europe and temperate Asia to Japan. The green stems are 20–60 cm tall and covered with minute needle-like prickles, and leaves are usually compound with three leaflets...
. Saltmarsh species include Salicornia europaea, Sea Purslane
Halimione portulacoides
Halimione portulacoides or sea purslane is a small greyish-green shrub widely distributed in temperate Eurasia and parts of Africa. A halophyte, it is found in salt marshes and coastal dunes, and is usually flooded at high tide....
, Sea Arrowgrass, Greater Sea-Spurry
Spergularia media
Spergularia media is a species of flowering plant in the pink family known by the common name greater sea-spurry. It is native to Eurasia and the Mediterranean, where it grows in many types of habitat, including disturbed areas, including places with saline substrates, such as salt marshes and...
and Common Scurvygrass
Cochlearia officinalis
Cochlearia officinalis, or Common Scurvygrass is a flowering plant of the genus Cochlearia in the family Brassicaceae....
.
Open water
Open water habitats include rivers, canals, lakes, reservoirs, ponds and, uniquely, turloughsTurlough (lake)
A turlough, or turlach, is a unique type of disappearing lake found mostly in limestone areas of Ireland, west of the River Shannon. The name comes from the Irish "tuar", meaning dry, with the suffix "lach", meaning a place . The "lach" suffix is often mistakenly spelled and/or thought to refer to...
). Common species of wet places include Common Reed
Phragmites
Phragmites, the Common reed, is a large perennial grass found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Phragmites australis is sometimes regarded as the sole species of the genus Phragmites, though some botanists divide Phragmites australis into three or four species...
, Marsh Willowherb, Common Marsh Bedstraw, Water Avens, Angelica, Brooklime
Brooklime
Veronica beccabunga is a succulent herb belonging to the family Plantaginaceae. It grows on the margins of brooks and ditches in Europe, North Africa and north and western Asia. It can be found on other continents as an introduced species...
, Marsh Pennywort, Water Plantain
Alisma plantago-aquatica
The Common Water-plantain , also known as Mad-dog weed, is a perennial flowering plant native to most of the Northern Hemisphere, in Europe, northern Asia, and North America. It is found on mud or in fresh waters....
, Marsh Cinquefoil, Marsh Marigold, Watermint, Yellow Water Lily
Nuphar lutea
Nuphar lutea is an aquatic plant of the family Nymphaeaceae, native to temperate regions of Europe, northwest Africa, and western Asia.-Growth:...
, Bulrush
Typha latifolia
Typha latifolia is a perennial herbaceous plant in the genus Typha. It is found as a native plant species in North and South America, Europe, Eurasia, and Africa...
and the invasive species Canadian Pondweed.
Karst
- KarstKARSTKilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...
, inland cliffs and scarps
The Burren
Over 70% of Ireland's 900 native species occur in The BurrenThe Burren
The Burren is a karst-landscape region or alvar in northwest County Clare, in Ireland. It is one of the largest karst landscapes in Europe. The region measures approximately 250 square kilometres and is enclosed roughly within the circle made by the villages Ballyvaughan, Kinvara, Tubber, Corofin,...
which is less than 0.5% of the area of Ireland.
and the Burren contains twelve Annex 1 habitats listed in the EU Habitats Directive. A 2001 survey found 28 different species per square meter (averaged over 1,100 vegetation samples) in upland grasslands, with up to 45 species per square metre in some samples. 22 of Ireland's 27 native orchid species are found in the region. Such high diversity has several explanations.Firstly several hundred square kilometers of species-rich unimproved limestone grasslands and upland pastures grazed mainly in winter, a practice which removes potentially dominant grass and weed species.Secondly there is a mixture of Arctic-alpine
Arctic-alpine
An arctic-alpine taxon is one whose natural distribution includes the Arctic and more southerly mountain ranges, particularly the Alps. The presence of identical or similar taxa in both the tundra of the far north, and high mountain ranges much further south is testament to the similar...
and Mediterranean species, and calcicole
Calcicole
A calcicole or calciphyte is a plant that does not tolerate acidic soil. The word is derived from the Latin 'to dwell on chalk'. Under acidic conditions, aluminium becomes more soluble and phosphate-less. As a consequence, calcicoles grown on acidic soils often develop the symptoms of aluminium...
and calcifuge
Calcifuge
A calcifuge is a plant that does not tolerate alkaline soil. The word is derived from the Latin 'to flee from chalk'. These plants are also described as ericaceous, as the prototypical calcifuge is the genus Erica...
species. The area is dominated by bare rock and rendzina
Rendzina
Rendzina is a dark, grayish-brown, humus-rich, intrazonal soil. It is one of the soils most closely associated with the bedrock type and an example of initial stages of soil development...
soils.
Woodland
Common wood sorrel
Common Wood-sorrel is a plant from the genus Oxalis, common in most of Europe and parts of Asia. The binomial name is Oxalis acetosella, because of its sour taste. In much of its range it is the only member of its genus and hence simply known as "the" wood-sorrel...
, Blackthorn
Blackthorn
Prunus spinosa is a species of Prunus native to Europe, western Asia, and locally in northwest Africa. It is also locally naturalised in New Zealand and eastern North America....
, Bird's Nest Orchid, Wood Anemone
Anemone nemorosa
Anemone nemorosa is an early-spring flowering plant in the genus Anemone in the family Ranunculaceae, native to Europe. Common names include wood anemone, windflower, thimbleweed and smell fox, an allusion to the musky smell of the leaves...
, Bluebell
Common Bluebell
Hyacinthoides non-scripta, commonly known as the common bluebell, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial plant. -Taxonomy:...
, Wood Avens
Wood Avens
Geum urbanum, also known as wood avens, herb Bennet, colewort and St. Benedict's herb , is a perennial plant in the rose family , which grows in shady places in Europe and the Middle East.Usually reaching a height between 20 and 60 cm, wood avens blooms between May and August,...
, Bugle
Ajuga reptans
Ajuga reptans, commonly known as Blue bugle, Bugleherb, Bugleweed, Carpetweed, Carpet Bungleweed, Common bugle, or Burgundy lace, is an herbaceous flowering plant native to Europe. This plant is often used as an ornamental plant. It is invasive in parts of North America.-Description:The bugle has...
, Ramsons
Ramsons
Ramsons — also known as buckrams, wild garlic, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, and bear's garlic — is a wild relative of chives native to Europe and Asia...
, Self-heal
Prunella vulgaris
Prunella vulgaris, known as common selfheal, heal-all, heart-of-the-earth, is a medicinal plant in the genus Prunella. It grows 5 to 30 cms high , with creeping, self-rooting, tough, square, reddish stems branching at leaf axis...
, Dog Violet
Viola riviniana
Viola riviniana, the Common Dog-violet, is a species of the genus Viola. It is also called wood violet or dog violet. It is a perennial herb of woodland rides, grassland and shady hedge banks...
, Honeysuckle, Holly, Lords and Ladies
Arum maculatum
Arum maculatum is a common woodland plant species of the Araceae family. It is widespread across temperate northern Europe and is known by an abundance of common names including Wild arum, Lords and Ladies, Devils and Angels, Cows and Bulls, Cuckoo-Pint, Adam and Eve, Bobbins, Naked Boys,...
, Herb Robert
Herb Robert
Geranium robertianum, commonly known as Herb Robert, Red Robin, Death come quickly, or Robert Geranium, is a common species of cranesbill in Europe, Asia, North America, and North Africa.Geranium robertianum can grow at altitudes of up to...
and Woody Nightshade.Woods dominated by oak and birch, with lesser amounts of rowan, holly, hazel, yew and aspen are called Western Oakwoods and occur principally in the uplands of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They are temperate rainforests.
Artificial Habitats
Quarries, gravel and sand pits, roads and railways, field boundaries, walls, waste ground and rubbish tips contain such plant species as Common Ragwort, Pineapple Weed, Hairy BindweedCalystegia pulchra
Calystegia pulchra is a species of morning glory known by the common name hairy bindweed. This is a climbing plant which may exceed three meters in height. The bright pink corolla may be 5 to 7 centimeters and has distinct white stripes. This species is a weedy wildflower which has naturalized in...
, Creeping Buttercup
Creeping buttercup
Ranunculus repens is a flowering plant in the buttercup family, native to Europe, Asia and northwestern Africa. It is also called Creeping Crowfoot and Sitfast.-Growth:...
, Common Daisy, Catsear
Catsear
Catsear , also known as flatweed, cat's ear or false dandelion, is a perennial, low-lying edible herb often found in lawns. The plant is native to Europe, but has also been introduced to the Americas, Japan, Australia and New Zealand where it can be an invasive weed...
, Coltsfoot
Coltsfoot
Tussilago farfara, commonly known as Coltsfoot, is a plant in the family Asteraceae.It has been used medicinally as a cough suppressant. The name "tussilago" itself means "cough suppressant." The plant has been used historically to treat lung ailments such as asthma as well as various coughs by way...
, Fat Hen
Chenopodium album
Chenopodium album is a fast-growing weedy annual plant in the genus Chenopodium.Though cultivated in some regions, the plant is elsewhere considered a weed...
, Nettle
Stinging nettle
Stinging nettle or common nettle, Urtica dioica, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant, native to Europe, Asia, northern Africa, and North America, and is the best-known member of the nettle genus Urtica...
, Redshank, Germander Speedwell, Ivy-leaved Toadflax
Ivy-leaved Toadflax
Cymbalaria muralis is a flowering plant native to Mediterranean Europe and widely naturalised elsewhere. It spreads quickly, growing up to tall—it commonly grows in rock and wall crevices, and along footpaths. The leaves are evergreen, rounded to heart-shaped, long and wide, three-seven lobed,...
, Rosebay Willowherb, Great Willowherb
Epilobium hirsutum
Epilobium hirsutum is a flowering plant belonging to the willowherb genus Epilobium in the family Onagraceae. It is commonly known as the great willowherb, great hairy willowherb or hairy willowherb. Local names include codlins-and-cream, apple-pie and cherry-pie.It is a tall, perennial plant,...
and Wall Pennywort
Umbilicus rupestris
Umbilicus rupestris is a fleshy, perennial, edible flowering plant in the stonecrop family Crassulaceae so named for its umbilicate leaves....
.
- Cultivated ground (arable and horticultural land)
Julie A. Fossitt gives a habitat classification.
Conservation
Threats to the flora include agriculture, drainage, housing developments, golf courses, mowing of roadside verges and introduced speciesIntroduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
. Conservation agencies include the National Parks and Wildlife Service (Ireland), the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency the Irish Peatland Conservation Council
Irish Peatland Conservation Council
The Irish Peatland Conservation Council is a national organisation established in 1982 to conserve and protect a representative sample of Irish bogs....
and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Bird Notes and News was first published in April 1903.The title changed to 'Bird Notes' in 1947. In the 1950s, there were four copies per year . Each volume covered two years, spread over three calendar years...
. There is a Threatened Species Programme at the National Botanic Gardens.
Herbaria
Major herbaria are conserved at the National Botanic Gardens and the Ulster MuseumUlster Museum
The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasures from the Spanish Armada, local history, numismatics, industrial...
.
See also
- National Parks in the Republic of IrelandNational Parks in the Republic of IrelandNational Parks in the Republic of Ireland is a link page for any national park in the Republic of Ireland.Table below shows the name of the national park and in which county of Ireland it is located. The first park which was established in Ireland was the Killarney located in County Kerry in 1932...
- List of Special Areas of Conservation in Northern Ireland
- British National Vegetation ClassificationBritish National Vegetation ClassificationThe British National Vegetation Classification or NVC is a system of classifying natural habitat types in Great Britain according to the vegetation they contain....
Broadly applicable but see Fossitt (2000). - Trees of Britain and IrelandTrees of Britain and IrelandMany lists of Trees of Britain and Ireland have been written. There are a number of issues surrounding the inclusion of a species in such a list...
- Landforms of Ireland :Category:Landforms of Ireland
- Topographia HibernicaTopographia HibernicaTopographia Hibernica , also known as Topographia Hiberniae, is an account of the landscape and people of Ireland written by Gerald of Wales around 1188, soon after the Norman invasion of Ireland...
An early (1180) account of the flora by Gerald of Wales.
Further reading
- David Cabot, 2009 Ireland Collins New Naturalist SeriesNew NaturalistThe New Naturalist Library books are a series published by Collins in the United Kingdom, on a variety of natural history topics relevant to the British Isles...
ISBN 978-0-00-730859-0 Natural history of Ireland biological history, geology and climate, habitats and nature conservation.Flora and fauna. - Curtis, T. G. F & Thompson R., 2009 The Orchids of Ireland National Museums Northern Ireland ISBN 9780900761508
- Curtis, T. G. F. and McGough, H. N. (1988). The Irish Red Data Book. 1: Vascular Plants. The Stationery Office, Dublin.
- Fitzgerald Interactive Flora of the Burren, Ireland Interactive CD ISBN 9789075000979 photographs and information on dicotyledonDicotyledonThe dicotyledons, also known as dicots, are a group of flowering plants whose seed typically has two embryonic leaves or cotyledons. There are around 199,350 species within this group...
plants of the Burren, the Aran IslandsAran IslandsThe Aran Islands or The Arans are a group of three islands located at the mouth of Galway Bay, on the west coast of Ireland. They constitute the barony of Aran in County Galway, Ireland...
and to the east of ConnemaraConnemaraConnemara is a district in the west of Ireland consisting of a broad peninsula between Killary Harbour and Kilkieran Bay in the west of County Galway.-Overview:... - Nelson, E. C. & Walsh, W. F. 1991. The Burren: a companion to the wildflowers of an Irish limestone wilderness. Aberystwyth & Bonis: Boethius Press & The Conservancy of The Burren.
- Nelson, E. C., 2008 Wild Plants of The Burren and the Aran Islands. New enlarged edition Collins Press ISBN 9781905172672
- Green, P.,2008 Flora of County Waterford National Botanic Gardens of Ireland ISBN 9780755776078
- O'Mahony, T.,2009 Wildflowers of Cork City and County Collins Press ISBN 9781848890206
- McNeill, I., 2010 Flora of County Tyrone National Museums Northern Ireland ISBN 9781905989171
- Reilly P. A., 2001 The Flora of County Cavan National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin ISSN 07920422
- Reynolds, S. C. P. (2002). A catalogue of alien plants in Ireland. pp. [4], 1-413. Dublin: National Botanical Gardens, Glasnevin.
- Scannell, M. J. P. & Synnott, D. M. (1987). Census catalogue of the flora of Ireland. A list of Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae and Angiospermae including all the native plants and established aliens known to occur in Ireland with the distribution of each species,and recommended Irish and English names. pp. [i]-xxvii, 1-171, map. Dublin: Stationery Office.
- Smith, A. J. E. The Moss Flora of Britain and Ireland Cambridge University Press ISBN 0521546729
External links
- The Flora of Ireland National Botanic Gardens, Dublin Overview and downloadable free lists of vascular plants, Bryophyta and Characeae
- Irish Species Register Access the lists via the Taxonomy Browser
- Flora of Northern Ireland
- National Biodiversity Data Centre (Waterford)
- Lichen Ireland
- Red Data List Vascular Plants pdf
- Irish Wildflowers Image rich "Amateur" site very well planned with species listed A–Z, by habitat, by flowering time and by colour.
- Burrenbeo
- Fungal Records Database for Britain and Ireland
- Northern Ireland Fungus Group Image rich gallery
- National Parks and Wildlife Service
- BSBI Maps
- Pleistocene History
- UCD Publications on bogland