Site Code
Country: United Kingdom
Central coordinates: 56.15000000o [56o 8' 59" North], -4.20000000o [4o 12' 0" West]
Administrative region: Scotland Argyll & Stirling (West Perthshire)
Area: 859 ha
Altitude: 0 - 0
Site Description
SSSI citation:
Flanders Moss, situated 15 kilometres west of Stirling on the flat Carse of Stirling, is one of the largest lowland raised bogs in Britain, and one of the most intact bogs in Europe.
Botanical Significance
(From NNR Management Plan).
An exceptionally large number of vascular plants for raised mire habitat occur on the Moss, including several species which are locally rare or on the limits of their British geographical distribution such as the White Beak-sedge Rhynchospora alba and the Bog Rosemary Andromeda polifolia . The Moss is a famous locality for the nationally rare northern acidophilous mire plant the Labrador Tea Ledum groenlandicum.
Many of the typical bog-mosses, including Sphagnum papillosum and S. magellanicum, are found in abundance, together with local rarities such as S. fuscum, S. imbricatum and S. molle within a rich diversity of natural microtopographical features. The development of woodland on Flanders Moss is a recent phenomenon, but where the conditions are sufficiently wet, tree growth is very stunted and the branches are encrusted with rich assemblages of lichen. This may approach the natural conditions of tree growth on raised bog in this part of Scotland.
Management guidance notes
None
Notes
None