Flora of Scotland - Flowering Plants and Shrubs

Flowering Plants and Shrubs

The total number of vascular species is low by world standards, partly due to the effects of Pleistocene glaciations (which eliminated all or nearly all species) and the subsequent creation of the North Sea (which created a barrier to re-colonisation). Nonetheless, there are a variety of important species and assemblages. Heather moor containing Ling, Bell Heather, Cross-leaved Heath, Bog Myrtle and fescues is generally abundant and contains various smaller flowering species such as Cloudberry and Alpine Ladies-mantle. Cliffs and mountains host a diversity of arctic and alpine plants including Alpine Pearlwort, Mossy Cyphal, Mountain Avens and Fir Clubmoss. On the Hebridean islands of the west coast, there are plantago pastures, which grow well in locations exposed to sea spray and include Red Fescue, Sea Plantain and Sea Pink. The machair landscapes include rare species such as Irish Lady's Tresses, Yellow Rattle and numerous orchids along with more common species such as Marram and Buttercup, Ragwort, Bird's-foot Trefoil and Ribwort Plantain. Scots Lovage, (Ligusticum scoticum) first recorded in 1684 by Robert Sibbald, and the Oyster Plant are common plants of the coasts.