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 What is Peat?Peat is composed o organic matter rom partiallydecayed plants. Peat has accumulated over a longnumber o years in waterlogged conditions.

It consists mainly o sphagnum moss as well asleaves, roots, seeds o other plants includinggrasses, sedges, shrubs and trees. Peat contains ahigh level o moisture and organic matter but is lowin nutrients and is acidic. Micro-organisms are slowto complete decomposition o dead plants becauseo low oxygen in the waterlogged peat.

 An area where peat orms is known as peatlandor a bog.

Types o BogsThere are three main types o bog in Ireland -blanket bog, raised bog and en bog.

Blanket Bog

Blanket bogs are areas o peat that orm a carpet over alarge area. Those ound mainly in mountainous areasabove 200 metres are known as mountain blanket bog.Lowland blanket bog is ound below 200 metresparticularly in western areas.

Raised bogRaised bogs are areas o peat that have developedin ormer lake basins. They are dome shaped andthe peat can be several metres deep.

Fen bog

Fens are areas o fat bog that occur around lakemargins and in waterlogged areas with a supplyo mineral rich waters.

ogs o CountyRoscommon

Sphagnum Moss

Raised Bog

Furze Alder Buckthorn

Bogs o County Roscommon

CuckooCarnivorous Butterwort Rosebay Willowherb

Raised bog habitat

Tur Cutting

History o Bogs in Ireland Ater the last ice age about 10,000 years ago, many small lakes were created inthe landscape o central Ireland. Fen vegetation and poor drainage helped in theormation o peat. The partially decomposed vegetation accumulated over yearsand years giving us our bogs today. The history o vegetation in the Irish landscapecan be traced through cores containing pollen and seeds rom bogs.

ome bogsCounty

oscommon...

lanagare

onchambers (Castlerea)

ooneigh (Roscommon)

anberry (Ballinasloe)ockvicar

rry Mountainorth Roscommon)

eevan (Roscommon)

ronan Mountainorth Roscommon)

unt Dillonermonbarry)

Bogs are designated as:

al Area o Conservation (SAC)

al Protection Area (SPA)

al Heritage Area (NHA)

r EU or Irish legislation.

Produced by Roscommon County Council © 2010

Text and images:John J Earley MSc.© 2010

Funded by the NPWS/DoEHLG

Bog Asphodel Seed

Bilberry Alder Buckthorn

Bog Cotton

ountyoscommoncommon is an inlandnty covering an area o roximately 2,500 squaremetres. The landscape iserally fat with gentle rolling. Only in some northerns o the county does therise above 250m with the

hest point 400m, on thenty Leitrim border.

t o the county is underlainCarbonierous Limestone.

re are a ew pockets o dstone, in the north, west and

o the county.

River Suck lies to the westsouth o the county, while

mighty River ShannonLough Ree fow along theern border. There are aber o large lakes scatteredughout the county.

ogs in Irelandestimated that in Irelands originally covered an areaound 1.2 million hectares,ut 17% o the land surace.ay there are about 200,000

ares in 600 bogs.

at Bogs inounty Roscommon

und seventy bogs can be

d in County Roscommon.majority are raised bogssome blanket bog occursigh ground in north

common at Kilronanorry mountain.

eat harvestinggenerations peat has beend as solid uel or cookingheating. In early summer

peat is cut into sods. Theare harvested ater drying

e sun. Ater a ew weeks o ng the sods are removed

m the bog to storage untilded or uel.

Sphagnum MossWithout sphagnum mosses bogswould not exist. The surace o bogs

is composed o living sphagnum

moss. This is foating on a thick layero waterlogged and partially rotted

plant material. Sphagnum moss canhold up to 20 times its own weight

in water.

There are several dierent specieso sphagnum mosses. Some

sphagnum species grow only a ew

mm per year while other speciescan grow up to 10cm in a year.

HeatherThe most characteristic plant o bogsis heather, a amily o evergreen shrubsthat can cover a large area o any bog.Bogs are sometimes reerred to as ‘heaths’,the name rom heather.

Several species o heather grow wild inIreland. Heather species growing wild inbogs in County Roscommon include lingheather (Calluna vulgaris), bell heather(Erica cinerea) and Cross-leaved Heath (Erica tetralix).In the ar west o Irelandmore species grow and some are very rare.

Bell heather and ling heather are commonon the drier parts o the bog while cross-leaved heath preers wetter bog.

Special Plantsto BogsSome species o wildfowersgrow almost exclusively in

bogs. These include bogasphodel, bog bean, bog

cotton, bog myrtle, bilberry,

cranberry and alder buckthorn.

Grasshopper

Lichen Cladonia

Marsh Fritillary

Kestrel

Stonechat Dragonfy

Foxglove Furze

Ideal habitat or Dragonfy

Plantlie o BogsBecause o the acid soil and low nutrients bogs usually have a very limited number o fowering plant species. Sphagnum moss, heather, urze and bracken are the dominantplants in most bogs. Birch, willow and oxglove are also common at the edge o manybogs. The introduced and brightly coloured rose-bay willowherb fowers in July and August and is a common sight along many bog margins.

Wildlie o BogsBogs host an interesting and diverse array o wildlie including wildfowers, lichens,butterfies, birds and insects.

Lichens in BogsIn some bogs several species o lichens can be very common. The matchstick lichen (CladoniaSp) is common and most distinctive with itsbright red colouring and its similarity to amatch stick.

Bogs o County Roscommon

Sphagnum moss

Healther - Ling

Cross leaed heath

Carnivorous PlantsBog soil is naturally low in nutrients,however some bogs plants have

adapted and devised a way to attractand trap insects. These carnivorous

plants are unique in that they derive

nutrients or growth by digestinginsects. In Ireland, butterworts,

sundews and bladderworts areall carnivorous plants that grow

only in bogs.

The butterworts and sundewsuse sticky glue to capture insectswhile the bladderworts use

a suction vacuum.

Butterfies &Moths o BogsThe large heath butterfy can be

ound almost exclusively in bogs.

The green hairstreak and marshritillary are also common.

The day fying latticed heath mothand the night fying emperor moth

are also ound almost exclusively

in bogs.

Birds o BogsThe main birds observedin bogs in County

Roscommon includenesting snipe, meadow

pipit, stonechat andwillow warbler.

Kestrel can oten be seenhovering above searching

or small mammals below.

Insects &DragonfiesIn summer many specieso fy inhabit bogs and someall prey to carnivorous plants.Grasshopper can also beobserved in many bogs.

Damselfies and dragonfiesare insects that mainly huntor fies over water and thestill water o a bog hole isideal. The channel o waterlet ater tur cutting is idealor a hunting dragonfy.The our-spotted libelluladragonfy is active duringthe summer months and iscommon in many bogs inCounty Roscommon.

Emperor Moth

Sundew

Latticed Heath Moth

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Bog Wildlie in County Roscommon

Look around you and see the wonderul selectiono fowers & wildlie in our beautiul bogs...

Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis)The meadow pipit is a very common resident breeding bird o 

bogs and many other habitats in Roscommon. It resembles the

lark but is slimmer and has a longer tail. Meadow pipit nests are

oten chosen by the cuckoo as host nest or their eggs.

Snipe (Gallinago gallinago)The long, straight bill and striped head make it an easy bird

to identiy. The snipe marks its territory with an interesting

display ight - rising high in the sky and suddenly diving, the wind

 vibrating its sti outer tail eather, creating a “drumming” sound.

The Snipe’s Nest (Gallinago gallinago)The snipe nests on the ground in bogs and wet places. The nest

is usually in a hollow lined with grass, near water. From April to

 August, our pear-shaped olive-brown or olive-green eggs are

laid. It is a common resident breeding species in Roscommon.

 Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus)The willow warbler is a very common summer visitor to

Ireland. It requents a wide range o habitats including areas

with bushes and scrub. Its liquid song can be heard in most

bogs in County Roscommon.

Large Heath Butterfy (Coenonympha tullia)The Large heath buttery is one o the ew butteries mainly

restricted to bogland, where caterpillars eed on bog cotton

and grasses. It can be easily overlooked as it only ies rom

mid-June to mid-July. It is ound in many bogs in Roscommon.

Emperor Moth (Saturnia pavonia)The emperor moth is large and distinctive with its prominent

eyespots. This is a species o bog and moorland. It can be seen

ying in April and May by day, over heather and bramble.

Emperor Moth Caterpillar (Saturnia pavonia)The emale lays the eggs in clusters on the branches o the ood

 plant, usually heather and sometimes sallow or bramble.

The large, at green caterpillars, ringed with black and white spots,

eed in summer. However they are not easy to spot on heather.

Marsh Fritillary (Eurodryas aurinia)The marsh ritillary occurs in boggy areas and in damp

meadows where devils-bit scabious, the ood plant, grows.

It ies in May and June and can be seen in many places

in County Roscommon.

Green Hairstreak Butterfy (Callophrys rubi)The underside o the wings o the green hairstreak is bright

green. The buttery can be seen near scrub in bogs where the

caterpillars eed on gorse. It ies in May and June and occurs in

a ew boggy areas in County Roscommon.

Damselfy (Coenagrion sp.)Damselies are weak iers, and rest with wings upright and

touching each other. O the eleven damsely species recorded

in Ireland, six species have blue marking. Damselies are

common in bogs throughout County Roscommon

Latticed Heath Moth (Chiasmia clathrata clathrata)This small and distinctive moth oten perches with its wings

open like a buttery. Also, like a buttery, it oten ies by day.

It can be seen rom April to September in bogs and heaths.

It is common in bogs in County Roscommon.

Butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris)This harmless-looking plant, with leaves arranged in a at

rosette, traps and eats insects. The eshy leaves are covered

with a sticky secretion. When an insect lands on the sticky

surace the lea curls to trap it.

Common Bog Cotton (Eriophorum angustifolium)In May and June great expanses o bog cotton with waving

white downy heads can be seen on all bog in County

Roscommon. The common bog cotton has fve to seven

nodding heads at the top o each stem.

Bog Asphodel (Nahtecium ossifragum)Brilliant golden patches o bog asphodel colour the

boglands in summer. The owers appear in July and August

on stems about 15 to 30cm high. It is common in every bog in

County Roscommon.

Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia)The leaves o the sundew are covered with glands that trap

and digest any insects that land on them. The insects supply

the sundew with essential minerals and enable it to grow

in peaty soils that are defcient in nutrients.

Heather, Ling (Calluna vulgaris) 

Ling is the most common o all the heathers growing in bogs in

County Roscommon and Ireland. It has pale purple,

bell shaped owers that appear rom July to September on a

wiry stem up to 125cm high. The leaves are triangular and tiny.

Cross-leaved heath (Erica tetralix) 

The cross-leaved heath has leaves arranged around the stem in

ours, like crosses. It has rose-pink bell-like owers that appear

in June and July. It is common throughout County Roscommon

and preers to grow in the wetter areas o bogs.

Bell Heather (Erica cinerea)Bell heather cannot tolerate wet conditions and is only common

on the drier parts o the bog where it may co-dominate with

ling heather. The owers are red-purple but are sometimes

white and appear rom June to August.

Bog Bean (Menyanthes trifoliata)The bog bean likes to grow in water up to one metre deep, but

its leaves and owers are held clear o the water surace. The

spikes o pink and white owers appear in May and June. It is

common in County Roscommon in the wetter part o bogs.

Pitcher-plant(Sarracenia purpurea)The pitcher plant owers are dark red and about 7cm across.

The owers stand up to 45cm tall and appear rom May to July.

Native to America, it was introduced to Ireland in the early

1900’s including a bog near the River Shannon in Roscommon.

Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus)The bilberry is a low bushy shrub that grows among

the heather. The owers appear in April and May

and the ruit can be used to make jam.

It is common in bogs in Ireland.

Cranberry Flower (Vaccinium oxycoccus)The owers appear in June and July. The ruit appear in August

and September. The acid r uits o this low-growing shrub make

a sauce to accompany turkey and venison. It grows in a ew

bogs in County Roscommon but is rare in Ireland.

Bog Myrtle (Myrica gale)On hot summer days in the bogs o Roscommon the air is

flled with the ragrance o bog myrtle. This small bushy shrub

grows to about 120cm high. Male and emale catkins grow on

separate plants and appear in spring beore the leaves.

Lichen (Cladonia sp)Because o similarity to red-head matches, this lichen species

is sometimes reerred to as ‘devils matchsticks’. It grows in

bogs, 10mm to 30mm high in patches. It can grow also on

rotting timber. It is common in bogs in County Roscommon.

Roscommon Heritage Poster Series No 3. Produced by Roscommon County Council © 2010

 An action o the County Roscommon Heritage Plan and Drat County Roscommon Biodiversity Plan.

Text and images: John J Earley MSc. © 2010. Funded by the NPWS/DoEHLG.

Sustainable Forests - the wood used to make the pulp for the paper for this poster has been sourced from a protected forest. Design by: www.creativefreedom.ie