We don't often record Dandelions

Properly I mean. We record "Taraxacum agg." (translation - "it's a Dandelion") almost every time we go out once they are in season. 

But there are 400 or so species of Dandelion we could be recording and there are very few expert "Taraxologists" who can do this. 

Mike Porter was such an expert and he reported 159 for the county in the new Flora of Brecknockshire. 

One species that he suggested I might try to refind is called Taraxacum luteum, the "Pure Yellow Dandelion". "Pure yellow" because the ligules (petals to most people) are not dark on the back - they are pure yellow front and back. 

So the group tried again to find one of these at a known site near Llangorse Lake yesterday. (Again because we had a go last year but were really too early to find many at all.)

A lot of Dandelion heads had to be turned over to examine the back before Lizzie was the first to exclaim "I think I have found one".

Taraxacum luteum, Pure Yellow Dandelion

Here is a picture of the back of the flower...

The reported "luminous yellow" appearance didn't seem to help - maybe because it was very sunny and almost all the Dandelions we saw seemed equally yellow - but these were also yellow on the back. Eventually someone found another one after quite a lot more searching then two came almost at once and the last 12 of the fifteen we found came along quite quickly - you do get your eye in.

A good day in all, with Lesser Water-parsnip found in the wet woodland in a new area. 

Berula erecta, Lesser Water-parsnip near Llangorse in 2021

Flora Launch

Last week we launched the book in style, thanks to Tim Rich and Rebecca Price the organisers. I talked briefly to a capacity crowd (over 50) at the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Visitor Centre but the book mainly spoke for itself. Two of Mike's sons and his wife were there with us.

Books are available now at: Summerfield Books

A Walk along the Wye from Builth Wells

 In 2013 I photographed this Black-poplar on the Wye bank east of Builth.

Populus nigra subsp. betulifolia, Black-poplar

These magnificent trees have long been in the county and are considered to be native in England but are probably introductions in Breconshire where they may have been planted to provide timber. Most trees in the county are males, making natural reproduction difficult...

We visited it again as a botany group yesterday only to find it sadly changed:

The tree-surgery may well have been advisable - to prevent it falling under its own weight into the river - and it is clearly responding vigorously to the treatment ! We noticed that the trunk is very hollow at the bottom...

Just to prove it clearly is the same tree here it is in 2013 before coming into leaf:

The tree was first recorded in in 1996 and was identified as the native subspecies in 2005 by Mike Porter. The first picture above is featured in Mike's Flora of the county.