ETYM Irish and Gael. bog soft, tender, moist: cf. Irish bogach bog, moor, marsh, Gael. bogan quagmire.
Wet spongy ground of decomposing vegetation; has poorer drainage than a swamp; soil is unfit for cultivation but can be cut and dried and used for fuel; SYN. peat bog.
Type of wetland where decomposition is slowed down and dead plant matter accumulates as peat. Bogs develop under conditions of low temperature, high acidity, low nutrient supply, stagnant water, and oxygen deficiency. Typical bog plants are sphagnum moss, rushes, and cotton grass; insectivorous plants such as sundews and bladderworts are common in bogs (insect prey make up for the lack of nutrients).