Flora
A large number of plant and animal species of interest occur within the site, including most of the native Irish mammal species, several important fish species including Arctic char, and a range of rare or scarce plant species. Several of the animal and plant species in the park have a hiberno-lusitanean distribution, meaning that they only occur in southwest Ireland, northern Spain, and Portugal. The main reason for this is the effect of the Gulf Stream on southwest Ireland's climate. The park has been designated a biosphere reserve because of the presence of such rare species.
Significant amounts of plant species found in the park have unusual geographic distributions and are of localised occurrence within Ireland. These plant species are grouped within four main categories: Arctic-Alpine plants, Atlantic species, North American species and very rare species. Atlantic species are species which are otherwise found mostly in Southern and South-western Europe, for example Arbutus, St Patrick's Cabbage and Greater Butterwort. North American species include Blue-eyed Grass and Pipewort.
Read more about this topic: Killarney National Park
Famous quotes containing the word flora:
“A man’s interest in a single bluebird is worth more than a complete but dry list of the fauna and flora of a town.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)