426 THE ECOLOGY OF PLANTS. 



404. Types of Moorland. In the Vegetation Maps of 

 Yorkshire, 1 several types of moorland are distinguished, 

 each named after the dominant (i.e. most abundant or most 

 characteristic) plant, the chief types being (1) Cotton Sedge 

 Moor, (2) Heather Moor, (3) Eough Grass Moor. These 

 types are found on Dartmoor and Exmoor, and are doubtless 

 to be recognised on moors generally. 



Fig. 176. Cotton-Sedge on a Boggy Moor. 



The Cotton Sedge Moor is, as already stated, monotonous 

 in appearance; in autumn and winter there is little except 

 the reddish-brown leaves of the Cotton Sedge, greyish- green 

 in spring when its dull flowers appear, and flecked with 

 white tufted fruits in summer (Fig. 176). The Cotton 

 Sedge is dominant on the higher plateaux at altitudes of 

 1500 to 2000 feet, and is characteristic of the wettest type 

 of moorland. 



The peat of this moorland is deeper (often 30 feet or even 

 more) and wetter than that of the Heather Moor. The leaves 



1 Botanical Map of Leeds and Halifax District, by Dr. Smith and 

 Dr. Moss (Bartholomew and Co., Is. 6d.). 



