My parents own a farm in Clare with various habitats: open grassland, a river, woodland area, a bog… When I go down to visit them I always try and make time to go on a little excursion to see what I can find. My favourite part of the farm at the moment is the bog land. So you can expect a few blog post about plants growing in the bog in the coming few weeks. The first of which is:
Round-leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia)
I love this tiny plant as it seems so exotic to me, even though it is a native plant. This sundew is one of the few carnivorous plants in Ireland. The soil they grow on is usually lacking in nutrients, therefore they trap and digest little insects to supplement their diet. Incidentally, boglands are usually full of midges which get stuck to the plant.
The round-leaved sundew is locally common and found on boggy ground all around Ireland. It is declining in numbers due to habitat loss, especially due to peat/turf cutting and drainage of bogs. It grows a rosette of reddish-green round leaves with long horizontal stalks. The leaf edges are covered in hairs which have sticky gluey liquid on the end in which insects get trapped. The leaf then rolls up and digests the insect.
The flowers are creamy white, up to 20cm in height but often they don’t open fully. In the past sundew was recommended for treating asthma and as a cough medicine. And it is still used in the preparation of cough medicines.
When you go to look for this plant, look in the wet, open parts of the bogs, look down and stare at the ground for a while. You will find one eventually. Once you see one, you are likely to see many more around the area. And don’t forget to wear your wellies!
Wildflower Walks Ireland 