Cae Cwm-bach

Also within

Powys County

Habitats

Fast flowing river and stream

Description

Description The site consists of a single meadow normally grazed by sheep in the spring and then put up for hay and cut in late July or August. It is one of a nationally important series displaying the range of seminatural neutral grasslands occuring in Britain. The meadow lies on a gentle north-east facing slope above the River Wye. The grassland of fescues, bent and vernal-grass Festuca/Agrostis/Anthoxanthum is very herb-rich with eyebright Euphrasia officinalis, bulbous buttercup Ranunculus bulbosus, ribwort plantain Plantago lanceolata and bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta abundant. Typical western hay meadow species such as globeflower Trollius europaeus, wood anemone Anemone nemorosa and twayblade Neottia ovata are also present. Towards the south-western and southern sides are small mounds of somewhat different botanical composition, with fewer grass species but an abundance of herbs such as pignut Conopodium majus, common sorrel Rumex acetosa, yellow rattle Rhinanthus minor and betony Betonica officinalis. Also present are, great burnet Sanguisorba officinalis, common bistort Polygonum bistorta, and the very characteristic regional plant, wood bitter-vetch Vicia orobus, in some quantity. This site is an excellent example of the mid-wales hay meadows of the wood bitter-vetch/globeflower type, but appears to lack a few of the species such as greater butterfly-orchid Platanthera chlorantha and quaking-grass Briza media, which occur in other examples of this grassland type in this part of mid-Wales.

Species mentioned

Insects to look out for

These moths, butterflies and beetles are known to feed on plants recorded at this site, and carry a notable UK conservation status — but a host-plant being present doesn't mean the insect has actually been recorded here. Treat this as "worth watching for," not a confirmed sighting.

Host-plant data: Cook et al. (2025), Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, 2024, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology / Butterfly Conservation; and Padovani et al. (2020), Database of Insects and their Food Plants (DBIF), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (both Open Government Licence). Contains data supplied by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

Plant communities