Not the Welsh AGM!

Although the BSBI Welsh AGM (see blog post) has dominated my thinking up to mid July, the botany group have found time for other activities.

With one of my children now living near Caterham we found ourselves on Farthing Downs on a rather wet day in June but I couldn't resist photographing locally abundant (but nationally rare) Greater Yellow-rattle. There is a lot more to be seen in the area when I have time...

Greater Yellow-rattle, Cribell felen fawr or Rhinanthus angustifolius

Also in June, the botany group did some exploration high above the Nant Irfon on Abergwesn Common (National Trust land) where we enjoyed wonderful views and also made a good set of records in this relatively unexplored area.

Galium saxatile and Veronica officinale. Heath Speedwell and Heath Bedstraw making a nice show on Abergwesyn Common

In the recent hot weather we went to Craig y Nos for a relatively cool woodland walk where I took the opportunity to photograph a "Brecon" Meadow Crane's-bill in the meadows there:

Meadow Crane's-bill, Pig-yr-aran y weirglodd or Geranium pratense

And we also escaped the heat by going to the Black Mountain Quarry area. This is over in neighbouring Carmarthenshire but I had always wanted to see this "other side" of our big hill in the south west of the county.

Thyme was abundant in the grass.

Wild Thyme, Teim gwyllt or Thymus polytrichus

And here is a picture of the flowers of "Motherwort" - not really wild but then the owner of the garden didn't plant / sow it either. Seen near Hay up on the Black Mountains.

Motherwort, Mamlys or Leonurus cardiaca

And recently we did a survey on some Woodland Trust meadows near Sarnau just north of Brecon, finding a rich variety of species and learning our botany as we went from one sampling site to the next. (We did 70 quadrats in all in the day.)

Lunch between doing field 1 and field 2.

And exploring Craig y Cilau for a suitable route for a forthcoming U3A Geology group trip we found this excellent example of eroded Glacial Till just where it was marked on the Geological map. Unfortunately the paths to go this way were not suitable for the meeting itself.

Most recently I joined Phil Sutton of Brecknock Wildlife Trust surveying the Cae Eglwys Reserve (near the Woodland Trust site above as it happens). This reserve is coming on well and results showed a good improvement in the "right" species. I didn't take photographs that day but photographed this Fleabane there a few years back:

Common Fleabane, Cedowydd or Pulicaria dysenterica

Phil photographed this Marsh Orchid there earlier in the year: