Gwaun Bryn (Bryn Pasture)
Also within
Description
Description A fine example of dry unimproved pasture supporting plant communities characteristic of slightly base-rich and more mesotrophic soils. The site comprises a single steeply-sloping field on a west-facing hillside. The upper slopes are dominated by common bent Agrostis capillaris with frequent sweet vernal-grass Anthoxanthum odoratum, sheep’s-fescue Festuca ovina, red fescue F. rubra, yellow oat grass Trisetum flavescens and common bird’s-foot-trefoil Lotus corniculatus. Characteristic associates include quaking-grass Briza media, spring-sedge Carex caryophyllea, harebell Campanula rotundifolia, lady’s bedstraw Galium verum, mouse-ear hawkweed Pilosella officinarum, fairy flax Linum catharticum, common milkwort Polygala vulgaris and trailing tormentil Potentilla anglica. The lower slopes are dominated by common bent, sweet vernal-grass and Yorkshire-fog Holcus lanatus. A number of calcifuge species occur here, including heath-grass Danthonia decumbens, bitter-vetch Lathyrus montanus, field wood-rush Luzula campestris, tormentil Potentilla erecta and devil’s-bit scabious Succisa pratensis.