These photographs were taken on the main trail from the car park at Tibradden Wood up to the Cairn at the summit. There was mixed wood land on this trail, largely in two catagories. There were Sitka Spruce plantations in various stages of dense cover to clear fell, and there were areas of mixed planting with largely Scots Pine.
Plant life on the initial stretch in the mainly native conifer wooded area included Scots Pine and to a lesser extent Birch, Elder and Hawthorn. Ground cover was still relatively lush and included Herb Robert, Nettle, Dog Violet, Sorrel, Chickweed, Brambles and plenty of Bracken. This stretch of wood was where most of the photos up to the orange fungi samples were taken. Mottled canopy and biodiverse species. From there up towards the rock lichen were Sitka plantations in various stages of regeneration, dense cover or clear fell. There was less to document here, with either dark canopy or exposed fell site. What was interesting to note, although not part of this study, was that the most recent clear fell site already had a large number of foxgloves in year one rosettes. There were no recently flowered or year two foxgloves and no other living plant matter to note. It is encouraging that dormant wild flower seeds had already started to recolonise the site.
On the perimeter of the Sitka woods there were a few Ash trees, which had interesting lichen in expanding circles. From there to the top of Tibradden the tree cover eases off and makes way for Gorse, Heather, boggy soil and glacial boulders. The cairn at the top has its own share of interesting rock lichen and moss, also pictured.
