Vascular Plants Of Shetland

heath spotted orchid

Dactylorhiza maculata, known as the heath spotted-orchid or moorland spotted orchid, is an herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the family Orchidaceae. It is widespread in mountainous regions across much of Europe from Portugal and Iceland east to Russia. It is also found in Algeria, Morocco, and western Siberia.

devil's bit

Chamaelirium is a genus of flowering plants containing the single species Chamaelirium luteum, commonly known as blazing-star, devil's bit, false unicorn, fairy wand, and helonias. It is a perennial herb native to the eastern United States. It can be found in a variety of habitats, including wet meadows and deciduous ...more ↓

Spring Squill

Scilla verna, commonly known as spring squill, is a flowering plant native to Western Europe. It belongs to the squill genus Scilla. Its star-like blue flowers are produced during the spring.

Northern Marsh-orchid

Dactylorhiza purpurella, the northern marsh orchid, is an orchid native to Great Britain, Ireland and Denmark.

Yellow Iris

Iris pseudacorus, the yellow flag, yellow iris, or water flag, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. It is native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa. Its specific epithet pseudacorus means "false acorus", referring to the similarity of its leaves to those of Acorus calamus (sweet flag), as they have a prominently ...more ↓

Common Cotton-grass

Eriophorum angustifolium, commonly known as common cottongrass or common cottonsedge, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae. Native to North America, North Asia, and Northern Europe, it grows on peat or acidic soils, in open wetland, heath or moorland. It begins to flower in April or May and, after fertilisation in early summer, the small, ...more ↓

bog asphodel

Narthecium ossifragum, commonly known as bog asphodel, Lancashire asphodel or bastard asphodel, is a plant of Western Europe, found on wet, boggy moorlands up to about 1000 m in elevation. It produces spikes of bright yellow flowers in summer. The bright orange fruits have been used as a colourant to replace saffron by Shetland Islanders. Despite the plant's ...more ↓

Frog Orchid

Coeloglossum is a genus of orchids. It has long been considered to have only one species, Coeloglossum viride, the frog orchid. Some recent classifications regard Coeloglossum as part of the larger genus, Dactylorhiza, so that C. viride becomes Dactylorhiza viridis. Other sources continue to keep Coeloglossum viride ...more ↓

tussock cottongrass

Eriophorum vaginatum L. (hare's-tail cottongrass, tussock cottongrass, sheathed cottonsedge) is a species of perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae. It is native to bogs and other acidic wetlands throughout the Holarctic Kingdom. It is a 30–60 cm high tussock-forming plant with erect solitary spikelets.

Early Purple Orchid

Orchis mascula, the early-purple orchid, early spring orchis, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae.

marsh arrowgrass

Triglochin palustris or marsh arrowgrass is a species of flowering plant in the arrowgrass family Juncaginaceae. It is found in damp grassland usually on calcareous soils, fens and meadows. The species epithet palustris is Latin for "of the marsh" and indicates its common habitat. It has a circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout northern parts of the ...more ↓

Viviparous Sheep's-fescue

Festuca vivipara (viviparous sheep's-fescue) is a species of grass native to northern Europe, northern Asia, and subarctic North America.

Ithuriel's Spear

Triteleia laxa (previously Brodiaea laxa) is a triplet lily known by several common names, including Ithuriel's spear, common triteleia and grassnut. It is native to California where it is a common wildflower, and it is occasionally found in southwestern Oregon. It bears a tall, naked stem topped with a spray of smaller stalks, each ending in a purple ...more ↓

Early Marsh-orchid

Dactylorhiza incarnata, the early marsh-orchid, is a perennial, temperate-climate species of orchid generally found growing in wet meadows, and generally on base-rich soils, up to about 2100m asl. The species occurs widely in Europe and Asia from Portugal and Ireland east to Siberia and Xinjiang.

Soft Rush

Juncus effusus, with the common names common rush or soft rush, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant species in the family Juncaceae. In North America, the common name soft rush also refers to Juncus interior.

Common Spotted Orchid

Dactylorhiza fuchsii, the common spotted orchid, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae.

tall oat grass

Arrhenatherum elatius, with the common names false oat-grass, tall oat-grass, tall meadow oat, onion couch and tuber oat-grass, is a perennial species of grass, common in the temperate regions of Europe.

sweet vernal grass

Anthoxanthum odoratum, known as sweet vernal grass, is a short-lived perennial grass that is native to acidic grassland in Eurasia. It is grown as a lawn grass and a house plant, due to its sweet scent, and can also be found on unimproved pastures and meadows. The specific epithet odoratum is Latin for 'odorous'.

star sedge

Carex echinata is a species of sedge known by the common names star sedge and little prickly sedge.

oval sedge

Carex leporina is a species of sedge known in the British Isles as oval sedge and in North America as eggbract sedge. It is native to Eurasia and eastern and western North America, where it grows in seasonally wet habitat, such as meadows and fields. This sedge produces many thin stems and narrow leaves. The inflorescence is an open cluster of several flower ...more ↓

crested dogtail grass

Cynosurus cristatus, Crested dog's-tail, is a short-lived perennial grass in the family Poaceae, characterised by a seed head that is flat on one side. It typically grows in species rich grassland. It thrives in a variety of soil types but avoids the acid and calcareous extremes of pH, and prefers well drained soils. It may be grown as an ornamental plant.

little green sedge

Carex viridula, known as little green sedge, green sedge, or greenish sedge, is a small flowering plant native to North America, Europe, Asia, and Morocco.

Narrow-leaved Bur-reed

Sparganium angustifolium is a species of flowering plant in the cat-tail family known by the common names floating bur-reed and narrowleaf bur-reed. It has a circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout the northern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. It is an aquatic plant, growing in water up to 2.5 meters deep. Its habitat includes acidic, low-nutrient ...more ↓

sand sedge

Carex arenaria, or sand sedge, is a species of perennial sedge of the genus Carex which is commonly found growing in dunes and other sandy habitats, as the species epithet suggests (Latin arenarius, "sandy"). It grows by long stolons under the soil surface.

Fragrant Orchid

Gymnadenia conopsea, commonly known as the fragrant orchid or chalk fragrant orchid, is a herbaceous plant of the family Orchidaceae native to northern Europe.

Pyrenean Lily

Lilium pyrenaicum (Pyrenean Lily, Yellow Turk's-cap Lily, Yellow Martagon Lily) is native to montane regions, mainly the Pyrenees, from Spain and eastwards, with the range extending into the Caucasus. It grows up to 1.3m high. It bears up to 12 Turks-cap shaped flowers. These are yellow, orange or red, and unpleasantly scented.

Great Woodrush

Luzula sylvatica, commonly known as greater wood-rush or great wood-rush, is a perennial flowering plant in the rush family Juncaceae.