Plant recording in Carmarthenshire in 2021 Kath and Richard Pryce The year started by Kath (KAP) and me (RDP) doing the BSBI New Year Plant Hunt in our garden here in Llanelli (SN476011) (seems we were the only contributors from Carms!). As usual, we would have recorded many plants had they been in bloom, but the general dampness seems to deter most species from flowering even if the weather remains mild. The only species of particular interest in flower was Kickxia elatine (Sharp-leaved Fluellen) which often appears after soil disturbance here. As in previous years, Ian Morgan (IKM) provided a series of new and interesting records from January right through to the end of November, many of which (particularly those of most interest) were accompanied by very good photos. On 5th March, he found a well-naturalised, broad, and shiny bright-green-leaved snowdrop growing with the usual Galanthus nivalis (Snowdrop) naturalized on a laneside bank at Pencoed, Bynea (SS561997). RDP consulted Bob and Rannvieg Wallis, confirmed galanthophiles living at Porthyrhyd, Carmarthen, who are confident that Ian’s plants are G. woronowii Losinsk. (Voronov’s Snowdrop). They had discovered a few plants of the same species naturalised, presumably a garden throw-out, on a lane bank near Pontyberem (SN516128) some five or six years previously. Bob says it is a native of Georgia and adjacent north-eastern Turkey which has been widely introduced in the bulb trade into this country. The important characters are the supervolute vernation (ie the two leaves are wrapped around each other as they emerge from the soil), broad shiny bright green leaves, the single green mark on the inner tepals that occupies less than half of the segment and a sinus (notch) is present at the tip of the inner tepals. Many thanks to Bob and Rannvieg for this information – it is obviously a species to be aware of and look out for! On 7th May IKM found a new population of c.20 plants of Erinus alpinus (Fairy Foxglove) growing from the old slag-wall of the backlane to Long Row, Llanelli (SN51180070), whilst on 4th July he found that the large, previously known population of this species that grows in walls mainly of Pennant Sandstone along the backlane of West End that leads off Goring Road, to be surviving well where he estimated c.200 plants to be growing. Most of the plants are on the side wall of the last house in Goring Road at SN5048400646 but a few plants are on walls bounding the back gardens of West End at SN5048700630 and also on a wall in Goring Road itself at SN5049800640. BSBI Welsh Bulletin No. 109 March 2022
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