TV wildlife expert David Bellamy is backing a #200,000 appeal to buy one of the last botanical wildernesses in Europe.
Munsary Peatlands - a peatbog and nature reserve covering just over three acres of the Caithness Flow Country has scarcely been touched by humans and is totally shaped by plants. It is recognised as internationally important wetland and home for thousands of birds.
It is covered in a deep blanket of peat and peat-forming bog mosses but Munsary's most important features are the ''dubh lochans'' - the pattern of pools on the peat.
On these live a different group of bog-mosses which float on the water surface and in places form ''quaking bogs'' which shake beneath walkers' feet like jelly.
Professor Bellamy, appeal patron and president of the charity Plantlife said: ''I am delighted that Plantlife has the opportunity to buy this amazing peat bog.
''It will more than double the area of plant-rich land we hold for conservation in Britain and is a site of truly international conservation importance.
''We need to raise #200,000 to buy Munsary and take forward our other plant conservation work in Scotland. I urge everyone to dig deep into their pockets and contribute to the appeal.''
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