The area is very wet with a high humidity and as a consequence the habitat is characterised by a large number of Sphagnum moss hummocks which rise up as much a metre above ground level.
The majority of the plateau is at an elevation of 1500 metres (5000 ft), where inverted treelines in valley bottoms give rise to grasslands, with bog and fen communities of Sphagnum and Empodisma in watercourses.
The company used a Canadian product, also called Bio-Matrix, made of Sphagnum moss properties notable for its natural ability to soak up oil.
Sphagnum plant have the largest gametophytes among the sections, forming large hummocks, their leaves form cuculate (hood-shaped) apices, and are green, except for Sphagnum magellanicum Example: Sphagnum austinii
Sphagnum | Sphagnum squarrosum | Sphagnum magellanicum | sphagnum |
Red Moss is one of only four raised bogs of sphagnum moss surviving in the Lothian region and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The Barkip sites have the typical bog plants, such as sundew, cotton grass, deer grass, and sphagnum mosses.
These floating mats often support a rich array array of other plant life adapted to wet infertile conditions, including Sphagnum moss, Ericaceous shrubs, orchids and carnivorous plants.
After the resting period, when Coelogyne Cristata starts to grow again in the spring, it can be replanted in porous and fibrous material, such as pine bark, charcoal pieces and even a little sphagnum, which are all known to be favorable to the orchids.
Larvae have also been found spun low down to the stems of Eriophorum angustifolium amongst a Sphagnum species.
Mushrooms are encountered on the ground, growing from detritus or amongst moss, such as the heart-leaved spear-moss (Calliergon cordifolium), the spiky-bog moss (Sphagnum squarrosum) and species of Mnium.
Above the semi-improved grassland is some bracken but much of the higher ground is covered in typical Calluna / Erica communities interspersed with large areas of Juncus, Carex and Sphagnum bogs.
Leptospermum trees form a sparse canopy on the mountain's upper slopes, while grasses and Sphagnum moss cover the ground.
Landscapes covered in peat also have specific kinds of plants, particularly Sphagnum moss, Ericaceous shrubs, and sedges (see bog for more information on this aspect of peat).
Sphagnum palustre is not on the IUCN red list of threatened species and therefore isn’t considered to be threatened or endangered.
Tephrocybe palustris, a species of fungus in the family Lyophyllaceae which parasitizes sphagnum moss.