Translation issue

[Ralla]

Dear all,

A significant number of books and publications on terrestrial orchids are in English.
In a German speaking orchid forum some translation issues have been raised regarding the mixture of soil.

I would appreciate if someone could help with this.

We try to distinguish between: bog, swamp, fen and moor
Or does it all mean the same?

And between: grit, flint and gravel?

And: loam, adobe, clay, mud and silt?

Who can help?

[Rob-Rah]

Moorland:

Usually higher altitude peaty substrate, moist but not wet. Often quite leached of nutrients by heavy rains. There may also be alkaline pockets in it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moorland

Fen:

A layer of peat covered by neutral or alkaline water, usually deriving from soluble chalky soils. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fen

Bog:

Acid water overlying a peat base, usually also including a good covering of sphagnum moss spp. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bog

Marsh:

Soil contains only a little peat, much rotting vegetation, covered by a slow-moviong or static sheet of water of near-neutral pH. Frequently somewhat alkaline. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsh

Swamp:

Not a precise term - usually used just for any extremely wet environment, including bogs, fens and marshes. Normally, if you stand to sink in it if you put your foot dowm, it might be called a swamp!

[Alec]

In normal usage -
Loam is just soil. It usually refers to garden soil.
Adobe is a mixture of mud and straw used to make primitive bricks.
Clay is very sticky, typically yellowy substance that is often found underneath soil. Clay soil is very heavy and dries out almost into solid lumps.
Mud usually is just very wet soil.
Silt is very fine soil, typically washed off by running water and deposited somewhere like on the bottom of river channels.
Alec

[Ralla]

Thanks folks!