The flora

The peat bog landscape is characterised by a swampy environment in which typical marsh vegetation grows with a prevalence of different plant varieties depending on the type of peat bog (high, low and intermediate).

The typical vegetation of the high peat bogs is peat moss, as well as algae, bryophytes, pteridophytes (licopods, equisetum and ferns) and low conifers (dwarf pine). The peat moss hummocks constitute a particular environment that is home to some very specialized species, including andromeda (Andromeda polifolia), licopodiella (Lycopodiella inundata), droseras (Drosera rotundifolia, Drosera longifolia), blueberries (Vaccinium microcarpum, Vaccinium uliginosum), sedge (Carex pauciflor, Carex limosa), deergrass (Trichophorum caespitosum) and sheathed cottonsedge (Eriophorum vaginatum).

In the low peat bogs the vegetation is richer, thanks to the soil that is generally rich in nutritious substances, and hygrophilous monocotyledons thrive with the more or less sporadic presence of other hygro-acidophilous plants belonging to the fern or angiosperm families. On the calcareous terrains it is possible to find the so-called "beaked sedge" (Carex rostrata), the wide-leaved cottonsedge (Eriophorum latifolium) and the parnassus grass (Parnassia palustris). Many sedges may also often be found in siliceous soils (Carex rostrata, Carex fusca, Carex nigra ecc.), along with cottonsedge (Eriophorum vaginatum) and trichophore (Trichophorum alpinum).

An intermediate plant situation between the high and low peat bogs can be found in those areas of low bog with more or less frequent and widespread peat moss hummocks. In this type of bog, in addition to various types of peat moss we can also find plants including sedge (Carex limosa),droseras (Drosera rotundifolia, Drosera longifolia) and white-beak sedge (Rhyncospora alba).

Drosera longifolia	Drosera rotundifolia
Eriophorum vaginatum	Schoenus ferrugineum
Tomentypnum nitens	Sphagnum magellanicum