A Busy Week

The RVNR scheme is a good way to get involved with botany in your county and helping Gareth with his stretch of road delivered some good finds and a splendid showing of Green Alkanet. We also had both Bryonies and some struggling Long-stalked Cranesbill.

Pentaglottis sempervirens, Green Alkanet

Then showing a colleague around at Traeth Mawr (part of Daudraeth Illtyd Nature Reserve) the best of many interesting finds was Baldellia ranunculoides, Lesser Water-plantain:

Baldellia ranunculoides, Lesser Water-plantain

And then, on Thursday a good session at Brechfa Pool turned up a good list of notable species and this horror:

New Zealand Pigmyweed, Crassula helmsii

- which was starting to form large mats that have the potential to choke out the rare plants. Rest assured that BWT will be on the case.

The cage installed earlier in the year had brought on some nice Marsh Foxtail plants but wasn't working for the Pennyroyal - another cage will be put in at another location where there is less grass competition to continue the experiment to allow the plant to develop better. 

We found some Mudwort - quite a rare plant and plenty of Pillwort as well as strong Pennyroyal plants and also were treated, under Mike Porter's expert guidance, to an in-the-field Water-crowfoot identification class. (many nectaries were looked at through a lens and discussed.)

Pond Water-crowfoot

Common Water-crowfoot

Ivy-leaved Crowfoot

Round-leaved Crowfoot (Not photographed last week but it was present at Brechfa)