Less is more?

Llyn Dwr

Middle Epynt Common* has hardly been recorded before apart from Bogbean being noted for Llyn Dwr (Water Lake) in 1990. So we went to find out what was growing there.

It was a four mile trek in all (with Stephen running a further mile to check out a small waterfall). So the short plant list for the five kilometre squares covered in the day seemed a disappointment but I realized later that this probably reflected the fact that the upland is very natural and unspoilt. Even Molinia caerulea or Purple Moor-grass seemed to be a relative newcomer on this heathland as it grew in vaguely circular patches in places where it grew at all.

There was plenty of Western Gorse and a very little Common Gorse:

Ulex gallii, Western Gorse

I noticed reading W G Hoskins' classic book The Making of the English Landscape soon after getting back that he he talks of mediaeval commons "covered in Gorse and Furze" as if the two names mean something different but Joan informs me that Furze is generally taken to be a west country name for Gorse. Maybe Hoskins was referring to the two differing Gorse species - of which Western Gorse is the softer - or at least not as harsh as the other.

There was of course plenty of Bracken - visible in the background of the picture above - and it was being actively controlled while we were there.

The Bogbean was still dominating the lake:

Menyanthes trifoliata, Bogbean at Llyn Dwr

- with just a little Bog Pondweed as the only other vascular water-plant we could find.

There was plenty of Ling and Cross-leaved Heath everywhere.

The small waterfall:

Blaen Cwm Llythin, Stephen Marshall

Another picture of the lake:

The Trig point nearby (424m).

and Maen Richard standing stone:

* The registered name in full is "Middle Eppynt, Merthyr Cynog"