Flanders Moss  Flanders Moss () is an area of raised bog lying in the Carse of Forth in west Stirlingshire, Scotland. The villages of Thornhill and Port of Menteith lie to the north with the villages of Kippen and Buchlyvie lying to the south. The moss is a National Nature Reserve, managed by Scottish Natural Heritage. Formed on the Carse of Stirling over 8000 years ago, it is an internationally important habitat currently undergoing active restoration. The eastern part of Flanders Moss is the largest raised bog in Europe to remain in a predominantly near-natural state. As well as being an important habitat for wildlife, Flanders Moss also plays a key role for carbon sequestration acting as a carbon sink. The bog is composed of an underlayer of sphagnum mosses, on top of which grows heather, cross-leaved heath and cotton-grass. Core samples from the peat show that there were very few trees on the bog for most of its life, however trees and scrub have spread over around 200 ha: these are predominantly birch, although Scots pine and the non-native rhododendron can also be found. The moss supports many plant species that are specialised to boggy conditions, including round-leaved sundew, cranberry, bog asphodel, white beak-sedge, and the nationally scarce bog rosemary. The bog is home to many species of invertebrates, especially moths: 215 species of moth have been recorded here, including rare species such as "Lampronia fuscatella" and the Rannoch brindled beauty. Many of the invertebrate are associated with the trees and scrub on the bog. Bird species known to breed at Flanders Moss include snipe, curlew and stonechat on the open parts of the moss, with tree pipit, cuckoo and wood warbler preferring the wooded areas. Winter visitors include whooper swans, and greylag and pink-footed geese. Raptors such as hen harriers, short-eared owls and ospreys can also be seen. Red and roe deer are known to visit the reserve, and otters make use the network of ditches to pass through the area. Flanders Moss is also home to many species of both reptiles and amphibians. Reptile species include adders, common lizards, and slow worm. The enclosure at Ballangrew on the western edge of the moss may have served as a hunting lodge during the mediaeval period.