Åraslövs mosse, Naturreservat

Take a trip to flowering wet meadows and swamp forest. Here you have the chance to experience as many as thirteen different species of orchids. Åraslöv bog with its marshes and damp deciduous forests is a remnant of a much larger wetland area outside Vinslöv. A hiking trail takes you around the open bog and marsh. A footbridge leads further out through this damp and flower-rich marshland. The path is lined with white and pink orchids in summer. Carnivorous plants hide among the tufts.

Wax keys - one of many orchids

Poor marshes, rich marshes, extreme rich marshes - there are many types of marshes. The more minerals there are in the soil, the richer the flora. Åraslöv bog is a mosaic of different types of bogs. With a great diversity of different plants. The nature reserve has a fantastic orchid flora. More common orchids such as Virgin Mary's keys and St. Peter's keys grow here, along with the more rare species of flyflower and marsh marigold. Åraslöv bog is one of the few places in Skåne where you can find such large quantities of wax keys, a yellow subspecies of the orchid meadow keys.

Tracked path across the bog

On boardwalk trails you can get out into the wetlands and enjoy orchids and other wetland plants. Out in the open marsh lurks the carnivorous plant, the marsh orchid. It traps passing insects with its sticky leaves. The species is also called hair yellow because it was once used to give hair a golden yellow sheen. Among the trees in Åraslov's meadow forests there is a rich grove flora with species such as green night-flowering violet, woodland knotweed, musk madder and giant yarrow.

Owls in the bog

The bird life at Åraslöv bog is real. Here you can encounter several different owls and woodpeckers, as well as woodchucks, nightingales and warblers.

Outdoor life

There is a 3 km long hiking trail here. It takes you from the parking lot, via a picnic area, out on a loop that rounds the open bog and marsh. The path runs mainly in deciduous and swamp forest on the edge of the bog, sometimes on a footbridge and sometimes on a path. There are uneven and wet parts. In the southeastern part, you can advantageously choose the shoveled loop that goes through the flower-rich, open marsh. There is a parking lot adjacent to the reserve. Remember to take your rubbish home.

In English

Welcome to Åraslövs mosse Nature Reserve

Take a trip to wetlands, wet meadows and swamp where you have the chance to discover a total of thirteen different species of orchid. Åraslövs Mosse (Åraslöv's Bog), with its carrs and wet broad-leaved woodlands, is the remains of a much larger wetland area outside of Vinslöv. Walk on the planks out on the boggy ground and hunt for flesh-eating plants.

A Carr is Not Only a Carr

Poor carr, rich carr, extremely rich carr - there are many types of carr and it is primarily the biodiversity that is the difference between them. The more minerals there are in the ground around the wetland, the richer the flora is. Rich carr is called species-rich, but nutrient-poor bog. These wetlands have many plants that are not found in the more common poor carr. Extremely rich carr is formed in the areas that are richest in lime and have high pH values.

Åraslövs Mosse is a mosaic of different types of carr and the biodiversity is thus both varied and rich. The nature reserve has a fantastic orchid flora, with many species such as heath spotted orchid and Early Purple Orchid growing side-by-side with rarer species such as fly orchid and marsh helleborine. Åraslövs Mosse is one of the few places in Sweden where you can find large numbers of the yellow flowering subspecies of the early marsh orchid.

Plank Paths and Rich Broad-leaved Woodlands

You can walk out onto the wetlands on paths made of wooden planks and enjoy the orchids and other wetland plants. The carnivorous plant butterwort lures passing insects that are then trapped in its sticky leaves. The species is called hårgula (hair yellow) in Swedish as it was once used to give hair a golden yellow lustre.

In amongst the trees in Åraslöv's woodland meadows there is a rich grove flora, with species such as lesser butterfly-orchid, broad-leaved helleborine, woodruff and Solomon's seal.

Regulations

Within Åraslövs mosse Nature Reserve it is forbidden to:

• remove, dig, drill, paint or in any other way damage the ground, stones, stone walls, geological features or archaeological remains,
• park up caravans, camper vans or equivalent,
• light a fire with wood , charcoal or use a barb eque other than in designated places,
• cycle,
• horseride or drive with a horse,
• break branches, fell, or in any other way damage living or dead trees, branches, and bushes,
• dig up plants,
• pick mosses, lichens, or wood -living fungi,
• bring a dog or other pet that is not physically held on a lead,
• play music or a sound system, musical instrument or equivalent in a loud or disturbing way,
• organize and conduct competitions, orienteering, camp events or equivalent events,
• drive a motor vehicle other than in the car park,
• put out or up notices, plaques, signs, posters, marking tape or equivalent,
• catch insects, spiders, snails, or other invertebrates other than with nets, by hand, or other selective methods which do not damage the habitat, and with subsequent re - release within the nature reserve. The requirement to put the species back, does not apply to one-off specimens of each species that are hard to identify, on the condition that the record is registered in Artportalen or an equivalent database for threatened species, and that the collection does not contravene any wildlife protection regulations.