Mark Hipkin recently found a new population of Round-leaved
Wintergreen (Pyrola rotundifolia ssp. maritima) for Neath Port Talbot at the
species rich Panasonic site in Sandfields, where this plant was photographed
yesterday. Other interesting plants at this site include Brown Sedge (Carex disticha), Pink Water-speedwell (Veronica catenata) and Hoary Ragwort (Senecio erucifolius), which are all uncommon
in the county. There’s also a large population of Flattened Meadow-grass (Poa compressa) here plus an interesting
maritime mixture of Sea Club-rush (Bolboschoenus
maritimus), Lesser Centaury (Centaurium pulchellum) and Sea-milkwort (Glaux maritima). Unfortunately, over the
last 12 years the amount of willow scrub and Common Reed (Phragmites australis) on the site has increased greatly and now Sea
Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) is
also invading at an alarming rate.
In some ways this site is a mini snapshot of what Baglan
Moors must have looked like 100 years ago and deserves to be conserved with
appropriate management accordingly.
3 comments:
This post prompted me to check out the location at Llanilid where I discovered a population of this species several years ago. Good numbers were present this morning, albeit in a very confined area. A new housing estate has sprung up about 100m away and i wouldn't be surprised if they disappear under a bulldozer before too long.
For anyone interested the grid reference is SS 99702 82098.
Paul,
That is a very notable record and I hope the population can be saved. Given the priority species status of Round-leaved Wintergreen in Wales, shouldn't the local authority ecologists be made aware of this. Inland populations of this species are of great biological interest and significant conservation importance.
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