The natural, foraging lifestyle of the sheep and the influence of their environment create defined flavours in the meat. The grazing land with its different plants and herbs has been mapped so that we know the ratio of different vegetation types. This allows the customer to choose their meat accordingly.

If you like to find a taste of heather and berries you should choose a meat from an area with a high proportion of heaths. 

 

 

 

Moss heath (Moslendi)

Racomitrum heath (Mosagróður)

Mosses account for more than half of all vegetation cover in Iceland and are particularly dominant in areas where there is little soil and growing conditions are unfavourable. Moss heath is common both in lava fields and at higher altitudes, where vascular plant growth is generally sparse.

 

Athelia heath (Hélumosagróður)

Snowbed vegetation is found in hollows and depressions where snow collects in winter and takes a long time to melt, meaning that the growing season is very short. The most common vascular plants to grow in snowbeds are dwarf alpine willow (Salix herbacea), alpine arctic cudweed (Omalotheca supine), creeping sibbaldia (Sibbaldia procumbens), alpine willowherb (Epilobium anagallidifolium),alpine speedwell (Veronica alpina), hare's-foot sedge (Carex lachenalii) and mossy mountain-heather (Harrimanella hypnoides). A number of the hardiest grassland species also grow in snowbeds. The most common moss species are Racomitrium spp. and Polytrichum sexangulare. Anthelia liverworts are also common in snowbeds, where they are sometimes the dominant species, forming a continuouslight grey carpet on the ground.

Heathland (Mólendi)

Heathland is dry and often hummocky, although hummocks can vary somewhat in size. A number of vascular plant species types can be dominant on heathland, for example grasses, heathers or dwarf shrubs.

Ericaceous shrubs heath (lyngmói)

Betula nana heath (fjalldrapamói)

  

Salix spp. heath (víðimói)

 

Kobresia myosuroides and Juncus trifidus heathland (þursaskeggs og sefmói)

 

Carex spp. heath (starmói)

 

Lichens ad dwarf shrub heaths (fléttumói)

Grassland and formb meadows (Gras og blómlendi)

Grassland (valllendi)

Forb meadows and grasslands tend to be species-rich; dicots and grasses account for most plant life. This type of vegetation grows where the soil is fertile and sufficientlydamp. In Iceland, such conditions are mainly found in hollows and depressions on sunny hillsides where vegetation is protected by snow over the winter. 

 

Dune grassland (melgresi)

 

Salt meadows (sjávarfitjungur)

 

Snow-bed grassland (finnungur)

Forb meadows (blómlendi)

 

Alaska lupin forb fields (alaskalúpína)

 

Wood- and shrubland vegetation (Kjarr og skóglendi)

Birch and tea-leaved willow are the main species of tree found in Icelandic woodlands and shrublands. Birch is the only species of tree to form continuous natural woodlands in Iceland, although the occasional rowan or aspen can be found growing in among the birch trees. Mosses and lichens often abound in forests, both as undergrowth and epiphytes growing on trees.

Betula pubescens wood- and shrubland (birkikjarr- og skóglendi)

 

Salix phylicifolia shrubland (gulvíðikjarr)

 

Cultivated vegetated land (Ræktað land)

Hayfield (garðlönd og tún)

 

Revegetated grassland (uppgrætt land)

 

Reforestation (skógrækt)

 

 

Wetland vegetation (Votlendi)

Wetland vegetation grows in areas where soils are damp or water-saturated: fringes (moist land), sloping fens and level fens. Where the water level is high enough, one finds aquatic vegetation.

Moist land (Deiglendi)

Slpping fens (Mýri)

 

Level fens (flói)

 

Aquatic vegetation (vatnagróður)