Bron Aberanerch
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Description
Description The site comprises a dry, herb-rich pasture on a south-facing slope in the Cerdin Valley at an altitude of 150 metres (490 feet). The plant diversity of the neutral grassland is maintained by a stable regime and this is one of the best examples in Ceredigion of an unimproved, calcareous pasture. An outstanding feature of the sward is the local abundance of quaking-grass Briza media, although red fescue Festuca rubra is the main dominant. Forbs comprise an unusually high proportion of the vegetation and, with some twenty-five species of flowering plants present in one square metre of turf, the species-richness is extremely high. Conspicuous and abundant members of the grassland community are fairy flax Linum catharticum, burnet-saxifrage Pimpinella saxifraga, glaucous sedge Carex flacca and pignut Conopodium majus. The dry, southerly aspect of the site is reflected in the presence of Smith's pepperwort Lepidium heterophyllum.
Species mentioned
Show the 7 species mentioned in the description, with red-list status| English name search for this in other sites |
Latin name search with Google |
IUCN / Red List | Type | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| quaking grass | Briza media | VU | grass | poaceae |
| red fescue | Festuca rubra | LC | grass | poaceae |
| pignut | Conopodium majus | LC | herb | apiaceae |
| Smith's pepperwort | Lepidium heterophyllum | VU | herb | brassicaceae |
| fairy flax | Linum catharticum | LC | herb | linaceae |
| burnet saxifrage | Pimpinella saxifraga | NT | herb | apiaceae |
| glaucus sedge | Carex flacca | LC | sedge | cyperaceae |
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.
| Species | Status | Via host-plant |
|---|---|---|
| Straw belle Aspitates gilvaria |
Endangered | Linum catharticum |
| Least minor Photedes captiuncula |
Endangered | Carex flacca |
| Grayling Hipparchia semele |
Vulnerable | Festuca rubra |
| Small heath Coenonympha pamphilus |
Near Threatened | Festuca spp. |
| Grey pug Eupithecia subfuscata |
Near Threatened | Pimpinella saxifraga |
| Rosy minor Litoligia literosa |
Near Threatened | Carex flacca |
| Swallowtail papilio Papilio machaon |
Near Threatened | Pimpinella saxifraga |
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.