Peat Is Plant Matter That Refused to Rot
Peat is partly decayed vegetation cut for fuel. It forms only where decay cannot finish.
Peat is partly decayed plant matter, mainly mosses, that accumulates in waterlogged ground and is cut and dried for fuel. It forms only where decay cannot complete: in permanently wet, acidic, oxygen-poor conditions, the bacteria that would break down dead plants cannot work. Material simply accumulates, about a millimetre a year, so a metre of peat represents a thousand years. That same chemistry preserves bodies, which is why bog bodies emerge with skin and hair intact after two thousand years.
- A fuel from bogs. *Cutting peat.*
- Peat bog. *A peat bog.*
- Peaty — tasting of peat. *A peaty whisky.*
- Turf — another name for it. *Turf.*
- Medieval Latin — *peta*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | peat | Peat. |
| Adjective | peaty | Peaty. |
| Compound | peat bog | A peat bog. |
| Related | turf | Turf. |
| Medieval Latin | peta | Peat. |
- They burned peat for heat.Fuel.
- A peaty Islay whisky.Flavour.
- It grows a millimetre a year.Formation.
Why bog bodies survive
- Acidic water halts bacterial decay
- No oxygen below the water table
- Sphagnum moss releases compounds that tan the skin
- Bone often dissolves while skin and hair remain
- Some bodies are over two thousand years old
Medieval Latin *peta*, probably of Celtic origin, recorded in English from the 1300s.
How fast does peat form?
About a millimetre a year, so a metre of peat represents roughly a thousand years of accumulation.
Why do bog bodies survive so well?
Acidic, oxygen-free water stops decay, and compounds from sphagnum moss tan the skin, though bone often dissolves.