Penmaen

Site of Special Scientific Interest · 52.8856, -4.4344

Also within

Gwynedd County

Geology & landscape

Geological Feature: Rock Outcrop

Description

Description The site consists of an elevated south-facing dry acidic rocky outcrop with grassy ledges. It is notable for the presence of flax-leaved St. John’s-wort Hypericum linariifolium in its only Welsh locality and its most northerly station in Britain. Nationally, it is only known from five additional localities all in South West England.

Species mentioned

English name
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Latin name
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IUCN / Red List Type Family
toadflax-leaved St John's-wort Hypericum linariifolium NT herb hypericaceae

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.

SpeciesStatusVia host-plant
Satyr pug
Eupithecia satyrata
Vulnerable Hypericum spp.

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.