Editing Lake Constance (section)

=== Flora ===
Until the 19th century, Lake Constance was a natural lake. Since then, nature has been heavily influenced by [[clearing (geography)|clearing]] and the cultivation of much of the land around its shores. However, some near-natural areas have been largely conserved, especially in the nature reserves, or were re-naturalised. As a result, the Lake Constance region has some unusual ecological features. These include the large forested area on the [[Bodanrück]], the occurrence of [[Gentiana pneumonanthe|marsh gentian]] and [[orchid]]s of the genera ''[[Dactylorhiza]]'' and ''[[Orchis]]'' in the Wollmatinger Ried, and the [[Siberian iris]] (''Iris sibirica'') in the [[Eriskircher Ried]], which was therefore given its own name.<ref name="Planet Wissen">[http://www.planet-wissen.de/natur_technik/fluesse_und_seen/der_bodensee/index.jsp Planet Wissen – Bodensee]</ref> One unique species among the local flora is the [[Lake Constance forget-me-not]] (''Myosotis rehsteineri''), whose habitat is restricted to undisturbed limestone gravel beaches.