Meadow Saxifrage in Neath Port Talbot

                                                             
Meadow Saxifrage (Saxifraga granulata) is no more than locally common in Wales and is rather rare in Glamorgan. It's a plant of basic grasslands, hay meadows and shaded, riverside locations. Populations have decreased significantly in parts of the British Isles over the last 2 or 3 decades. The plant in the photograph above was in a very small population on the banks of the river Neath near Resolfen. I'm familiar with this species in similar sites along the head-streams of the River Neath in Brecknockshire, but I've never seen it in Neath Port Talbot before. Other noteworthy plants here included Hard Shield-fern (Polystichum aculeatum) which is surprisingly common in wooded places along the River Neath between Glyn Neath and Aberdulais (photo below).