Catching up

... with reporting what we have been doing. "We" are the Brecnockshire Botanical Recording Group and it's a busy time. So taking my pictures in order:

Two weeks ago we met up with the Monmouthshire Botanical Recording  Group to explore our common border at Tarren yr Esgob (near Capel y Ffin, which means "Chapel on the border"). It was quite a climb / scramble to get up to the botanically-rich crags where the rare Sorbus (Whitebeam) shared by only our two counties grows:

Llanthony Whitebeam or Cerddin Ewyas, Sorbus stenophylla

This is also one of only two Sorbus species so far discovered that are pentaploid (have five sets of chromosomes per cell) - the other grows at Craig y Cilau, also in Brecknockshire.

Up there we encountered many lime-loving plants - in an area where the Geological map does not mark any limestone but there are "calcrete" layers marked nearby. Anyway the vegetation speaks for itself and is finding the water seeping out of the rocks to its taste. This included a fine selection of the more delicate ferns:

Beech Fern or Rhedynen gorniog, Phegopteris connectilis

Limestone Fern or Rhedynen y calchfaen, Gymnocarpium robertianum

(Note these two are growing together in this instance.)

Oak Fern or Rhedynen dridarn, Gymnocarpium dryopteris

... actually seen only in Monmouthshire at Tarren yr Esgob - but this picture is from the Grwyne Fawr Valley in Brecknock which I visited two days later.

And we were pushing our way through large swards of this:

Lemon-scented Fern, Oreopteris limbosperma

Then last week we went to a farm on the banks of the Wye near Hay to walk part of an old railway line and look at some ponds. The species I photographed were:

Welted Thistle or Ysgallen grech, Carduus crispus

I've only knowingly seen this a few times. I suspect I will be recognising it more in the future after Mike Porter pointed this one out.

Blue Water-Speedwell or Graeanllys y dwr, Veronica anagallis-aquatica

(Or maybe a hybrid of the same - Mike Porter is working on that one.)

Chicory or Ysgellog, Cichorium intybus

A solitary plant on the side of a field.

Scentless Mayweed or Amranwen ddi-sawr, Tripleurospermum inodorum

Edging a field planted with a fodder mix.

Slender Knapweed, Centaurea debeauxii

(A newly segregated species that we are only just starting to get to grips with.)

Rigid Hornwort or Cyrnddail caled, Ceratophyllum demersum

In one of the ponds.

... Many more were seen and recorded.

Meadows of all types and a parasite

Last week two of us set out to explore and record at Cwm Cadlan National Nature Reserve - with ambitious plans to go through the reserve; out onto the common and back by another route.

In the event we had hardly got 200 yards from the car by lunchtime - there was so much to spend time on and investigate.

The marshy grassland found at Cwm Cadlan is unusual as lime-rich spring water flows through the reserve, creating alkaline habitats in amongst the more acid ones.

Marsh Lousewort or Melog y waun, Pedicularis palustris was present in the marshy meadow near the entrance in grater numb ers than I have ever seen before. (This isn't a picture from Thursday...)

And we were just in time to catch the last of the Fragrant Orchids - which are also plentiful there:

Fragrant Orchid or Tegeirian pêr, Gymnadenia conopsea - approaching the airfield after a sortie... (this picture was taken on the reserve)

Then on a higher meadow (just below the common) we found several different species of Marsh Orchid, some a little past their best including:

Southern Marsh-orchid or Tegeirian-y-gors deheuol, Dactylorhiza praetermissa.

Many other species were recorded; we covered a third (or less) of the reserve and repeat visits to the area are definitely required.

Then on Friday, Mike alerted me to a good stand of Ivy Broom-rape right in the centre of Brecon which I visited on the way back from our meeting at Berthlwyd Farm on Saturday:

Ivy Broomrape or Gorfanhadlen eiddew, Orobanche hederae in the trees between Brecon Hospital Car Park and the main road.

The joint BSBI / BWT meeting at Berthlwyd Farm went well with 16 of us botanising in meadows full of, in particular, Great Butterfly Orchids.

Picture by Steph Coates

A good list of species was recorded and five of us went to the New Inn in Ystradfellte for Cream Tea afterwards. Some went on to see waterfalls. A great area of the county for all these pursuits.

Back to Normal

I've been away at the BSBI Welsh AGM and then busy with leading a walk in a reserve followed by some Geology around Tenby so it was nice to get back to some botanical recording on Thursday accompanied by members of the Brecknock Botanical recording Group, my co-recorder, Mike Porter, Steph Coates and Paul Green.

We were exploring Cae Bryntywarch Nature Reserve (Brecknock Wildlife Trust) in the hope we might refind Small White Orchid in the second site in the county where it has been seen in the last few decades. There was no luck with this and sadly several choice species previously seen at the reserve were no longer present, including Dyer's Greenweed and Butterfly Orchid. However, Carex montana was still well-established, if long-past flowering:

Soft-leaved Sedge, Hesgen feddal or Carex montana

There was plenty of Wood-Bitter-vetch:

Wood Bitter-vetch, Ffacbysen chwerw or Vicia orobus

some still flowering but much more with seed pods. (The above not taken this year...) Great Burnet was abundant as was Betony and many other good things which made the conundrum of the disappearing species even more baffling.

By the time we had explored the lanes around the list stretched to nearly 200 different species (slightly fewer if you discount the subspecies my more-expert colleagues were pointing out) and we scored a full set on my recording card of Dryopteris ferns (ie all the ones I expect to find at all often in Brecknock - five in all).

Tormentil, Potentilla erecta subsp. strictissima (a rare subspecies of a common plant)

Plus this cooperative and photogenic lizard.

And I took this in the car park in Brecon from which we shared cars to the reserve...

A gallery from the Welsh BSBI AGM and Tenby

Sea Spleenwort, Duegredynen arfor or Asplenium marinum high above the beach at Saundersfoot

Greater Knapweed, Y bengaled fawr or Centaurea scabiosa at Skrinkle Haven

Lesser Centaury, Y ganrhi goch fach or Centaurium pulchellum at Newport Wetlands Centre

Narrow-leaved Bird's-foot-trefoil, Lotus tenuis probably introduced in a seed mixture at Newport Wetlands Centre

Lily-of-the-valley, Lili’r dyffrynnoedd or Convallaria majalis at Black Cliff Wood

Geology at Saundersfoot...

Pwll y Wrach always delights

I joined the some of the Powys Road Verge Nature Reserve volunteers for their annual joint outing at Pwll y Wrach yesterday. This is billed as Brecknock Wildlife Trust's most popular reserve and deservedly. In my experience it always has delights in store at any time of year.

Possibly yesterday's highlight was the largest population of Hard Fern I have seen - looking magnificent in the dappled sun. I don't suppose this photograph does full justice...

Hard-fern, Gwibredynen or Blechnum spicant

We were also pleased to encounter Water Avens (or maybe its hybrid with Wood Avens) on the climb up to the waterfall.

This probably is is Hybrid Avens, Mapgoll groesryw or Geum x intermedium

And we saw much more - including on the road verge on our return - it's one of the verges in the scheme.

Another very hasty one

Here are some pictures of Fedw Wood, which was well worth braving the rain for. (the rain soon stopped as well.)

The bluebells were very good but not a lot else in the understory. There were interesting trees though - a regenerating Wych Elm and an assortment of Birches including these magnificent ones - with very fissured bark:

And then next day Steph and I were looking at Globeflowers of a tributary of the Llynfi:

(A very species rich meadow in private ownership.)

Ignore the forecast

I do watch the weather forecast but Thursday was the only day I could manage and it didn't look too bad... So I was very pleased that three joined me for a spot of recording in Cwm Cadlan with the off-chance of confirming a record from 1983 of a rather unlikely (but not impossible) species of Mouse-ear. We didn't find it but intriguingly found habitat it wouldn't be out of place in and the two common relatives were there as expected. But best of all we had glorious weather - even sun and some great views, albeit after a dampish but bearable start.

Eating our lunch with this view:

I was very glad Paul Green was with us - in the grazed turf there I would have taken twice as long to find half as much. As it is I learnt several species in minimal vegetative state under Paul's guidance. We even saw some dandelions which I was able to say half-literate things about.

Common Whitlowgrass, Llysiau’r-bystwn ar or Erophila verna - abundant in places

Brittle Bladder-fern, Ffiolredynen frau or Cystopteris fragilis in the rock crevices

Looking back as we returned.

 

Botanising along the rock ledges

An old lime kiln used by locals in the past ?

And finally - a preview of the Pwll y Wrach walk at the Talgarth festival on Sunday (when the weather is set fine). Many thanks to Dainis Ozols for the picture and especially for clearing our path for Sunday.

Mainly Dandelions

This is what a BSBI Taraxacum (Dandelion) workshop looks like:

There are well over two hundred species of dandelion in the UK and 130 or so have been recorded by Mike Porter, my colleague, or John Richards in Brecknockshire. John was the expert at the workshop I went to in Bangor over the weekend and is shown below explaining the characters of Taraxacum faeroense.

Three days of intensive taraxology haven't made me an expert but I will no longer be walking by every dandelion I see, muttering "Taraxacum agg." and moving on to more readily identifiable species - I hope.

I did learn a lot though and in a little excursion today was able to decide on a section (there are 9 broad sections for the genus) for the dandelions I saw at Henallt Common and even make a stab at a species for a few. But most were not suitable for taking home and pressing - an essential stage in identification for many. Maybe I will see some on Thursday... (The examples at Henallt were few and mostly too far advanced to be the ideal specimen.)

This was the highlight, Taraxacum palustre, Marsh Dandelion or Dant-y-llew’r gors at Newborough Dunes. It has been recorded in Brecknock, but not recently, and makes a good target to look out for as it is fairly easy to identify from the simple leaves and the habitat if favours (as well as other things).

 We saw other plants as well including this New Zealander at Aberffraw:

Cardamine corymbosa, New Zealand Bitter-cress or  Berwr chwerw Seland Newydd which was new to me and is apparently spreading through the country in pavement-type habitats. So to watch out for in Brecon and Hay etc.

And, of course, we saw some great scenery:

Dyrysiog Wood

A good recording day at this BWT reserve. We were disappointed not to find any Early Purple Orchids  (surely we were not TOO early ?) but everything else you might expect was there - with many species in satisfying abundances. There are also some great views of the Nant Bran ("Crow Stream") and sounds of many birds I couldn't identify - but Steph could.

It was the perfect time for Wood Anemones, Anemone nemorosa or Blodyn y gwynt and we particularly noticed that the patches showed a great variation in leaf and flower colour.

Caltha palustris Marsh-marigold Gold y gors

The Nant Bran with Steph finding stuff along the bank in the last picture

A fungus I haven't seen before...

... and the Bluebells were just starting to flower: