A walk in the woods

Two intrepid botanisers joined me yesterday despite an inauspicious start to the day. My second-guessing of the weather had failed spectacularly with forecasts predicting "Friday better than Thursday" right up until Thursday morning by which time it was too late to change the plan. But the rain finally stopped at about midday and was never that heavy. (It was the cold on my pencil hand I disliked most.)

Coed Cefn near Crickhowell (Woodland Trust) is certainly worth a visit at any time of year and there will clearly be a very good and extensive Bluebell display later on in the year.

Joan and Heather look at a Wood-rush

I stumbled on a nice patch of Adoxa moschatellina (Moschatel, Mwsglys) early on which was a bonus and probably the only significant find I was first to see, my companions being invaluable in finding the rest of the 50 or so taxa we recorded.

Adoxa moschatellina (Moschatel, Mwsglys)

We did pretty well with trees, including several determined from last year's leaves underneath them. All in all it was a satisfying outing.

Among the many non-vascular things that we noted with interest was this dainty little moss:

Pogonatum aloides, Aloe Haircap we think
and

Evernia prunastri and a Stereum (fungus) species on a log.

And finally some good views - even if a little misty. ("Table Mountain" beyond the tree).