Teal Lough probably has the finest hummock and pool complex of any raised bog in Northern Ireland. The pools support aquatic Sphagnum mosses, along with stands of bogbean and pockets of submerged lesser bladderwort. In the margins, the rare oblong-leaved sundew can be found, along with bog asphodel and white beak-sedge.
The surrounding blanket bog is characterised by the greater abundance of dwarf-shrubs, becoming intermixed with swards of purple moor-grass on wetter flushed slopes. A large colony of the large heath butterfly is known to be centered on the intact bog area. Black headed gulls nest in the reserve, as do teal which give the small open areas of water its name. A wider range of wildfowl frequent the lough in winter.
