Plants of Waternish
Spring is generally late to arrive in this part of the world.
However, by May, things have usually warmed up sufficiently for
gorse to be billowing with deep-yellow flowers. Primroses and
bluebells too are often surprisingly plentiful, with red campion
and marsh marigolds adding a splash of additional species
diversity and colour.
Summer months are never without their botanical interest for
those willing to explore such delights. After the blaze of
colour during May, foxgloves, yellow iris, ox-eye daisies and
cotton-grass are bound to draw your eye during June and July.
Perhaps the next notable feature to catch the eye is the
flowering of heather, especially the common heather, or ling (Calluna
vulgaris) which usually flowers at its best during early
August, coinciding with the ‘Glorious Twelfth’ ~ the start
of the grouse shooting season ~ but not so Glorious if you
happen to be a grouse! In fact, red grouse are rather scarce in
Waternish, and Skye generally, such that very few are shot here,
unlike the managed grouse moors on the mainland ~ but the
heather flowers regardless.
Ling heather is by far our most common species of heather but we
also have two other species: the purple or bell heather (Erica
cinerea) tends to grow on dry rocky outcrops and has a showy
deep purple flower ~ very eye-catching when in flower. The
third species of heather is less obvious and tends to grow in
wet boggy areas (the sort of places that most sensible people
avoid!) ~ this is cross-leaved heath (Erica tetralix),
which has rose-pink flowers and starts flowering in June, often
associated with the bright white flowering tufts of
cotton-grass.
During summer months, for those prepared to explore the wet
boggy areas in more detail, your time could be well rewarded. It
is in these acidic nutrient poor conditions that our carnivorous
plants can be found: sundews and butterworts ~ all of them
delightful plants to find. There is also a chance of finding
bladderwort in flower in some of the bog pools. And, as an
aside, these bog pools are also good places to find some of our
rarer dragonfly species ~ but on calm humid days they can
also be notable places for encountering Skye’s ferocious biting
midges ~ but if it is any comfort at all, it is only the
females that bite!
For the orchid enthusiast, we have several species that grow
quite widely in Waternish, beginning with the flowering of the
early-purple orchid (Orchis mascula) in April. These are
quickly followed by the flowering of other species: fragrant
orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea); greater butterfly orchid (Platanthera
chlorantha); Lesser butterfly orchid (Platanthera bifolia);
Small white orchid (Pseudorchis albida); Heath spotted
orchid (Dactylorhiza maculata); Early marsh orchid (Dactylorhiza
incarnata); and Northern marsh orchid (Dactylorhiza
purpurella) ~ most of these occur around ‘The Smiddy’
~ and there are several additional orchid species that occur
elsewhere in Skye.
Autumn is a fine time in Skye. September and October often bring
fine sunny weather, frequently with a nightly chill in the air,
sufficient to kill off the annual crop of midges. The hillsides
change colour to reveal a mosaic of wonderful hues, a blend of
red, brown, yellow and gold, dotted with clusters of bright
orange ripening rowan berries. It is amongst this backdrop that
the red deer rut takes place.
