Cwm Oergwm

The Brecon Beacons summits form a long ridge with steep valleys to the northeast, interspersed with long parallel spurs and four round-headed valleys or cwms; from west to east these are Cwm Sere, Cwm Cynwyn, Cwm Oergwm and Cwm Cwareli.

Cwm Oergwm (Valley of the cold valley) was our object last week but we had to cross the stream from Cwm Cwareli to get there. This seemed a trivial matter when we did the recce in March. But August proved much wetter (particularly the night before our outing) and when we got to the ford it didn't look straightforward to cross at all so some time was spent fruitlessly looking for a better crossing point (and finding some new species to record naturally). So, in the end we returned to the normal fording place and took our boots off to cross carefully by wading.

We then made our way up the valley to the upper reaches of the Nant Menasgin, our main recording area, and previously a place where Bog Orchid has been found.

 Picture by Sue

We spent time down by the stream  as well as above it.

After some recording in the main area we had lunch by the stream

... and watched the bubbles in the water at the base of a cascade:

We explored many varied and species rich flushes near the stream but didn't find any Bog Orchid. Plenty of updated records for the 2020 BSBI Atlas were made though. (We found plenty of Sundew, Butterwort, Skullcap and a host of Rushes and Sedges.)

Heather, Grug or Calluna vulgaris

One flush seemed calcareous and had different species including this (mainly well past it like the example on the left) which had us stumped for awhile...

Marsh Arrowgrass, Saethbennig y gors or Triglochin palustris (Triglochin palustre in older books)

Sue and Meg among the heather.

It was much easier crossing back over the Cwareli stream going back as the water had already abated.

Anthony was the only one properly equipped for the ford as we found it.

The Bog orchid hunt isn't over yet - we didn't get to the very highest parts of the stream near the source and further exploration there next year is planned.

As always I owe thanks to my intrepid co-explorers who supplied knowledge, good company and six extra eyes!

August

This is a catch up - we have been busy!

A while back several of us gathered in the Grwyne Fechan Valley for unfinished business from last year. Mike and Chris would do the lane near the car and three of us set up along McNamara's Road to explore the upper valley.

Passing a Beet field with plenty of arable weed species

 Crossing the Grwyne Fechan at Tal y Maes Bridge 

We completed the exploration of the target squares started by myself last year and established that one of my imagined species from last year probably wasn't there after all...

My camera didn't come out of the bag so the pictures above are thanks to Sue. We got back to the cars all at roughly the same time, Mike had found many different Brambles amongst a long list and our circular tour had given us plenty to record.

Then two of us went back to restricted areas to complete the National Plant Monitoring Scheme work and look at a field for the landowners.

I don't like trying to identify Burdocks so this went into my records as uncertain:

Wood Burdock, Cyngaf bach or Arctium nemorosum; or is it?

We found substantial numbers of this again:

Mountain Pansy, Trilliw y mynydd or Viola lutea

It doesn't make the Brecknock Rare Plant Register - based on records made in the 1980s but it looks like it will stay off it going forward from recent results - good news.

Heather, Grug or Calluna vulgaris

- flourishing where all but the most adventurous sheep have been kept out.

And here is a Harebell - photographed solely because it was a photogenic specimen...

Harebell, Clychau’r eos or Campanula rotundifolia

Most recently I actually got physical at Allt Rhongyr BWT Nature Reserve, helping (a little) with Bracken slashing, and then went around the reserve finding Autumn Gentian Sites and taking these photographs which I think illustrate what a great reserve it is.

Autumn Gentian, Felwort, Crwynllys yr hydref or Gentianella amarella (picture taken in 2013)

Stop Press: these just in from Sue who was there last Saturday.

More of the same

We continued our survey of the land near Allt Rhongyr last week.

Picture by Steph who was Bracken-rolling on the reserve

The additions to our list from the week before were relatively few - but significant. Also we established that some species we saw the week before in small quantity were, in fact abundant. Examples follow:

Small Scabious, Clafrllys bach or Scabiosa columbaria (here proliferating a bit from the inflorescence)

Common Rock-rose, Cor-rosyn cyffredin or Helianthemum nummularium

Wall-rue, Duegredynen y muriau or Asplenium ruta-muraria

And this wasn't abundant but definitely present in fern-rich scree:

Green Spleenwort, Duegredynen werdd or Asplenium viride

Near Allt Rhongyr

But not in the reserve. We set out up a species rich lane to record in some privately owned land nearby (and therefore recorded the lane as well for general reasons).

It was nice to find a really good stand of Brittle Bladder-fern near one of the many cave entrances in this area:

Brittle Bladder-fern, Ffiolredynen frau or Cystopteris fragilis

Mike showed us a particularly attractive Blackberry - one of the many species he has recorded and helped to identify in our area:

Rubus vestitus (as the only online resource I could find that even attempted a common name calls it: "A Bramble")

When  we got up to the limestone-influenced level we started to find many more choice plants  - including another rarity from a difficult genus:

Hieracium repandulare, Repand-leaved Hawkweed

"A Welsh endemic locally frequent in the Craig y Rhiwarth area and at Craig Cerrig Gleisiad." (BSBI Atlas of British and Irish Hawkweeds). A pity we were too late for the flower...

John and Mike approach a cave entrance (picture by Sue)

Near and Far

I set out to record what was growing wild in my immediate environment (Hay-on-Wye) last week and my first outing didn't take me even 100m from the house before I was back to identify some specimens. Things growing in pavement cracks can be harder than usual to identify - especially if trodden on!

Among these were: (none of these photographed on the day or where seen...)

Slender Pearlwort, Corwlyddyn unflwydd or Sagina filicaulis (Sagina apetala subsp. erecta)

Thyme-leaved Sandwort, Tywodlys dail teim or Arenaria serpyllifolia

I didn't get a lot further in my second outing so another session will be required to do the 1km square justice.

Then at the weekend I went to Plas Tan y Bwlch near Porthmadog for the Welsh AGM of the BSBI. Saturday's field trip saw a group of us doing a 1km square near Trawsfynyyd with a quarry and upland with interesting geology. Thanks to the excellent botanists in the group 160 or so records were made in the square including a "Vicia bingo" - all the Vicia species on the Merionithshire card were ticked off after a late discovery of Vicia orobus in a field at the farthest point we got to.

Wood Bitter-vetch, Ffacbysen chwerw or Vicia orobus (A Brecknockshire picture)

Another good find - requiring very sharp eyes on the part of a colleague:

Lesser Clubmoss, Cnwp-fwsogl bach or Selaginella selaginoides

Beaten by Midges one day, then Kenfig

Only two of us offered ourselves as sacrifice to the fierce midges of the Nant Tadarn valley - a tributary of the Towy in farthest Northwest Brecknockshire - but it was worth it even if they probably shortened our visit.

This area hasn't recorded for a whole and was, it has to be said, dominated by a few species (Mat-grass and Star Sedge among them) so the number of records was small. But we did find rocks with Fir Club-moss and a single Parsley Fern. Records of the latter pop up from time to time in this area over the years but not often. (It is much more abundant high in Snowdonia.)

Fir Clubmoss, Cnwp-fwsogl mawr or Huperzia selago

Parsley Fern, Rhedynen bersli or Cryptogramma crispa

The latter wasn't the happiest plant I have ever seen but there were lots of decayed leaves from last year and it appears to be withstanding the attentions the local sheep able to reach up to it.

And we also found Bladder Sedge at the source of the Nant (together with abundant Marsh Violet plants):

Bladder-sedge, Hesgen chwysigennaidd or Carex vesicaria

Then four of us gathered at Kenfig Visitor Centre for Brecknockshire Botany Group's first foreign visit. It was great to be just doling botany without having to record - and we all learnt from each other in a variety of ways. The flora was of course also rather different from that we are used to.

Early Marsh-orchid, Tegeirian-y-gors ar or Dactylorhiza incarnata

Adder's-tongue, Tafod y neidr or Ophioglossum vulgatum (we saw this in abundance)

Lesser Water-plantain, Llyriad-y-dwr bach or Baldellia ranunculoides

Examining Fragrant Agrimony

And, as we set off back towards the cars, we stumbled upon several plants of the Rare Fen Orchid that grows at Kenfig, having failed to find it at a currently-known site earlier. It has been recorded here in the past but this refind delighted the Warden.

Fen Orchid, Tegeirian y fign galchog or Liparis loeselii - note Adder's Tongue and Marsh Helleborine adjacent to it.