Flora and fauna (Scottish Highlands)

Sundew [Drosera intermedia] Ardnamurchan, 30/05/84 ~ Dew which the sun cannot disperse, hence sundew. Not dew, of course, but a sticky solution which will entangle any small fly seduced by the leaf's gaudy sinister beauty. Within a few seconds the nearest tentacles will curl over to trap the prey, and its struggles will stimulate more and more tentacles to join in. Eventually the leaf itself will curl inwards and exude a sort of gastric juice by which it can digest the nutritious parts of the insect, finally after a week or two opening up again with just the indigestible bits remaining, as can be seen here. Thus, by reversing the normal order of things under which animals feed on plants, can the sundew survive in a sour boggy habitat deficient in essential nutrients.

Scots pine [Pinus sylvestris] Loch Hourn, 11/06/92 ~ In the absence of any serious competition which would force it to grow upwards, this grand old pine by the Barrisdale path is free to spread its wings