Natural history of Scotland concerns the flora, fauna and

mycota A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from th ...

of Scotland.

Flora

The flora of Scotland is an assemblage of native plant species including over 1,600 vascular plants, more than 1,500

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.bryophytes. The total number of vascular species is low by world standard but lichens and bryophytes are abundant and the latter form a population of global importance. Various populations of rare fern exist, although the impact of 19th century collectors threatened the existence of several species. The flora is generally typical of the north west European part of the Palearctic realm and prominent features of the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

flora include

boreal Boreal may refer to: Climatology and geography *Boreal (age), the first climatic phase of the Blytt-Sernander sequence of northern Europe, during the Holocene epoch *Boreal climate, a climate characterized by long winters and short, cool to mild ...

Caledonian forest (much reduced from its natural extent), heather

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generally ...

and coastal machair."Flowering Plants and Ferns"
SNH. Retrieved 26 April 2008 In addition to the native varieties of vascular plants there are numerous non-native introductions, now believed to make up some 43% of the species in the country."LICHENS: Biodiversity & Conservation"
RBGE. Retrieved 26 April 2008 There are a variety of important trees species and specimens; a

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

near

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

is the tallest tree in the United Kingdom and the Fortingall Yew may be the oldest tree in Europe. The

Shetland mouse-ear ''Cerastium nigrescens'', commonly known as the Shetland mouse-ear, Shetland mouse-eared chickweed or Edmondston's chickweed, is an endemic flowering plant found in Shetland, Scotland. It was first recorded in 1837 by botanist Thomas Edmondst ...

and Scottish primrose are endemic flowering plants and there are a variety of endemic mosses and lichens. Numerous references to the country's flora appear in folklore, song and poetry.

Fauna

The fauna of Scotland is generally typical of the north-west European part of the Palearctic realm, although several of the country's larger

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s were hunted to extinction in historic times. Scotland's diverse temperate environments support 62 species of wild mammals, including a population of wild cats and important numbers of grey and harbour seals.Matthews (1968) p. 254. Many populations of

birds, including blackcock and the famous

red grouse The red grouse (''Lagopus lagopus scotica'') is a medium-sized bird of the grouse family which is found in heather moorland in Great Britain and Ireland. It is usually classified as a subspecies of the willow ptarmigan but is sometimes consider ...

, live here, and the country has internationally significant nesting grounds for seabirds such as the northern gannet. The golden eagle has become a national icon, and white-tailed eagles and ospreys have recently re-colonised the land. The Scottish crossbill is the only endemic vertebrate species in the British Isles. Scotland’s seas are among the most biologically productive in the world; it is estimated that the total number of Scottish marine species exceeds 40,000. Included in the country's ocean inventory are the Darwin Mounds, are an important area of cold water coral reefs discovered in 1988. Inland, nearly 400 genetically distinct populations of

Atlantic Salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlantic salmon are ...

live in Scottish rivers. Of the 42 species of fish found in the country's fresh waters, half have arrived by natural colonisation and half by human introduction. Only six amphibians and four land reptiles are native to Scotland, but many species of invertebrates live here that are otherwise rare in the United Kingdom (UK). An estimated 14,000 species of insect, including rare bees and butterflies protected by conservation action plans inhabit Scotland.

Mycota

Approximately 1,650 species of fungal species are found in Scotland. The rare Phelloden confluens is found in five or fewer 10 km squares.

Micro-organisms

Syringammina fragilissima is a

xenophyophore Xenophyophorea is a clade of foraminiferans. Members of this class are multinucleate unicellular organisms found on the ocean floor throughout the world's oceans, at depths of . They are a kind of foraminiferan that extract minerals from their s ...

found off the coast of Scotland, near Rockall. It is the largest single-celled organism known, at up to across and was the first xenophyophore ever to be described after its discovery in 1882.

Conservation organisations

Conservation of the natural environment is well developed and various organisations play an important role in the stewardship of the country's flora and fauna. Many agencies in the UK are concerned that climate change, especially its potential effects on mountain plateaus and

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

life, threaten much of the flora and fauna of Scotland.See for example Johnston, I. (29.11.2006) "Sea change as plankton head north'". Edinburgh. ''The Scotsman''. This report quotes

James Lovelock James Ephraim Lovelock (26 July 1919 – 26 July 2022) was an English independent scientist, environmentalist and futurist. He is best known for proposing the Gaia hypothesis, which postulates that the Earth functions as a self-regulating sys ...

's concern that global warming will "kill billions" of people over the coming century.

Where to see Scottish wildlife

It is possible to view whales, dolphins,

porpoise Porpoises are a group of fully aquatic marine mammals, all of which are classified under the family Phocoenidae, parvorder Odontoceti (toothed whales). Although similar in appearance to dolphins, they are more closely related to narwhals an ...

, and

basking sharks The basking shark (''Cetorhinus maximus'') is the second-largest living shark and fish, after the whale shark, and one of three plankton-eating shark species, along with the whale shark and megamouth shark. Adults typically reach in length. ...

in their natural environment on boat tours of the Hebridean waters. Other places which exhibit Scottish wildlife include: * Highland Wildlife Park * Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park *

Cairngorms National Park Cairngorms National Park ( gd, Pàirc Nàiseanta a' Mhonaidh Ruaidh) is a national park in northeast Scotland, established in 2003. It was the second of two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament, after Loch Lomond and The Tro ...

* Forestry Commission (Scotland) *

Central Scotland Forest Trust Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

References

*Benvie, Neil (2004) ''Scotland's Wildlife''. London. Aurum Press. *Brown, Leslie (1989) ''British Birds of Prey''. London. Bloomsbury. *Edwards, Kevin J. & Ralston, Ian B.M. (Eds) (2003) ''Scotland After the Ice Age: Environment, Archaeology and History, 8000 BC - AD 1000''. Edinburgh. Edinburgh University Press. *Fraser Darling, F. & Boyd, J.M. (1969) ''Natural History in the Highlands and Islands.'' London. Bloomsbury. *Gooders, J. (1994) ''Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Ireland''. London. Kingfisher. *Hull, Robin (2007) ''Scottish Mammals''. Edinburgh. Birlinn. *MacLean, Charles (1972) ''Island on the Edge of the World: the Story of St. Kilda''. Edinburgh. Canongate. *Matthews, L. Harrison (1968) ''British Mammals.''London. Bloomsbury. *Miles, H. and Jackman, B. (1991) ''The Great Wood of Caledon''. Lanark. Colin Baxter Photography. * Murray, W.H. (1973) ''The Islands of Western Scotland.'' London. Eyre Methuen. SBN 413303802 * Smout, T.C. MacDonald, R. and Watson, Fiona (2007) ''A History of the Native Woodlands of Scotland 1500-1920''. Edinburgh University Press.

Notes

External links

Scottish Natural HeritageForestry Commission ScotlandJoint Nature Conservation CommitteeScottish Wildlife TrustRoyal Zoological Society of ScotlandScotland's National Nature ReservesRoyal Society for the Protection of BirdsScottish Seabird CentreCairngorms National Park AuthorityLoch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park AuthorityJohn Muir TrustTrees for LifeButterfly Conservation Scotland
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