The miniature world of moorland plants is fascinating to me. I love the way that when you get really close up to things on the moor, you see a whole different world. A world you could happily believe was full of aliens and things not of this world. The truth is that it almost certainly is just that. I’ll be prepared to bet that the flora and fauna of this area are not fully explored and that there are probably many unknown species here. All it needs is someone with the time, knowledge and energy to investigate.

I once read that there are venus fly traps (not sundews, actual venus fly traps) growing wild on the moor in close proximity to our village. I have never seen any evidence of this but it wouldn’t surprise me at all. Wet, acidic soil with low levels of nutrients mean that plants take extreme measures to get their nutrition. I don’t regard it as impossible, however unlikely. They are native to North America so it’s a strange thing if they are, although they are closely related to sundews. What would be interesting is if they are here, did they get here as escapees from “captivity” or is there a genetically different species here.

On walks, I constantly scan the ground looking for any signs of the strange. I know this photo doesn’t contain anything particularly unusual as far as I’m aware. (But you can never quite tell without more than a cursory glance – now wouldn’t it be great to find something? Something that makes science fact from myth?