Smaulmyrar, Naturreservat

The Smaulmyrar nature reserve is a southern outpost of a cluster of nature reserves that runs via Guffride and Mallgårds haid to Fjälängar in the far north. The reserve is named after the flaky bog that spreads out in the northern part of the reserve.

A variety of creatures live in Smaulmyrar. There are insects that enjoy the abundance of flowers or gnaw their way through the dying or dead trees. The plant composition of the soil varies and adapts to the conditions. Where it is dry and lean, as in the alvar meadows, some thrive, while others thrive in the wet meadows. Fungi live in symbiosis with the old trees, and the raven hovers over the forest and mire, keeping watch.

The southern half of the reserve consists of rocky forest. Old dirt roads lead you through. In places, traces of small-scale quarrying are visible. Sharper broken stones have been left at the edge of the rock. Eventually you reach a ridge overlooking the bog. The mire is unusual on Gotland because it is covered by wire sedge. Usually our bogs are dominated by the more tall and saw-edged plant ag, but here ag grows only sparsely. Along the edges of the bog, inlets and outlets, the calcareous wet meadow is rich in species. Marsh lily, sedge and orchids such as marsh marigold and flyflower can be found there.

Four species of the oxel genus grow in the reserve. Two of them are well known, rowan with its compound leaves with equally large small leaves attached along the midrib and oxel with its shallowly lobed and slightly grayish leaves. The wattle maple and the Norway maple are more unfamiliar to most people. They have leaves that look like a cross between rowan and oxel. The leaves of the rowan are more similar to rowan, but the small leaf at the top of the leaf is larger than the others. The leaves of the Finnoxel are fused together for a longer distance but two pairs of leaflets are still present at the bottom. How many species of rowan and oxel can you find?