Western Isles Wildflowers - Machair
Machair is specific to the Atlantic coasts of Scotland and The Western Isles. Machair is a Gaelic word and the Western Isles is world renowned for the specific coastal habitat that ecologists have labelled the 'machair'.

 

There are differing opinions as to exactly what constitutes the "machair. Basically it seems that in the shallow Atlantic seas there is lots of seaweed and in the seaweed lots of shellfish. The shells are ground down and washed ashore with storms - blown inland in the winds.

They supply the land with a top dressing of the lime rich shell sand. The sand from the sea contains calcium - calcium carbonate which is found in the shells - it is alkaline. This shell sand helps to create the machair as it is alkaline it neutralises the acid from the peaty soil and creates a really fertile environment and for a few weeks of the summer the result is a carpet of beautiful wildflowers of many different shapes, sizes and colours. The best displays of machair occur on land that has recently been ploughed.

Flowers
Particular areas of the Western Isles - seem to have their own machair - that is made up of all different types of flowers - sometimes some of the species being only specific to that particular region.

Scientific Term
The tiny blue flowers - pictured opposite were part of the machair - carpet of wildflowers on Scarista - Isle of Harris. Machair is very important ecologically and for conservation. Machair is now a recognised scientific term. Almost half of the Scottish machair occurs in the Outer Hebrides

Bluebells - Just one of the carpet of flowers
Machair at Scarista - Isle of Harris

If you are lucky an orchid amongst the carpet of flowers - there are many different orchids that occur in The Outer Hebrides - specific to the Western Isles - like the hebridean spotted orchid and the heath orchid

Seaweed and Hay Stacking
The stacking of hay and straw in conical stacks has been advocated as being beneficial to the retaining of the machair - as has the use of seaweed in fertilisers.

Western Isles council, Conmhairle nan Eilean Siar and Scottish Natural Heritage & the European Union have funded the RSPB Scotland-led project to make sure that the lovely Machair doesn't die away. The hope is that the funding will allow the development of a better understanding as to conserving the machair.

Click Images for Larger Picture       Traigh Mhor Tolsta - The Machair Lots of Self Heal - Prunella   Machair - Scarista - Isle of Harris Harebells - Bluebells - Red Clover - Daises & more...

Wading Birds Habitat
The RSPB have estimate that the machair is home to 16,000 breeding pairs of wading birds such as lapwings and ringed plovers.

Different Machairs - Different Areas
The bay of Luskentyre has a meadow of sea pink (thrift). The machairs behind displays daisies and buttercups, clover, orchids, harebell, and knapweed, gentian, centaury, eyebright and thyme. In the wetter parts there are iris, primrose and bog pimpernel.The more peaty areas have heathers, milkwort and cotton-grass, sundew and butterwort.