Plant Habitats

All across Ireland there are many different places where plants grow. These are called habitats. How many habitats can you think of?

Johnstown Lake
Copyright S. Wyle

Did you remember all the wet habitats like rivers and bogs? Of course, the seaside, mountains, woodlands and gardens are also plant habitats. All of these are extremely important for birds, insects and other animals, as well as for of Ireland’s varied and beautiful plants.

Dune waxcap

Dune waxcaps usually grow in the short grasses along the coast and in sand dunes. Latin name: Hygrocybe conicoides

Copyright John Kennedy

Dune waxcap
Copyright John Kennedy

Dune waxcap

Dune waxcaps usually grow in the short grasses along the coast and in sand dunes. Latin name: Hygrocybe conicoides

Copyright John Kennedy

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In order for plants to survive in each habitat, they develop special features. This is called adaptation. These special features could make it very difficult for a plant to survive outside of its natural habitat.

For example, a plant used to soggy bog-lands wouldn’t live very long on a windy, rocky mountain! For this reason, most plants are only found in one type of habitat and not another.

In this section, we’re going to take a closer look at some of the habitats in Ireland and how plants adapt to live there. Let’s start with the seaside!