Marloes Mere is a
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
(or ''SSSI'') in
Pembrokeshire, South Wales. It has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest since November 1985 in an attempt to protect its fragile biological elements.
Countryside Council for Wales website (Natural Resources Wales since 2013)
accessdate: 30 December 2013 The site has an area of and is managed by Natural Resources Wales.
Type
This site is notable for its wet acidic vegetation. It lies in a hollow on the Marloes peninsula lined with glacial silt and clay and each winter the pasture floods. Such pasture is rare in West Wales. Scarce plants occur and the shallow winter waters and ponds are frequented by waterfowl.
The mere was common land until 1811; at that time Richard Fenton mentioned that it abounded in medicinal leeches ('' Hirudo medicinalis''), from which the villagers derived a considerable trade.
Rare species
Rare plants include:
* three-lobed crowfoot (''Ranunculus tripartitus
''Ranunculus tripartitus'', three-lobed crowfoot, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, which grows in pools and muddy hollows in coastal parts of Europe, North Africa and West Asia. It is rare and endangered throughout its ...
'')
* tubular water-dropwort ('' Oenanthe fistulosa'') growing on the margins of the ditches, reservoirs and pools
* wintering wildfowl include wigeon, shoveler, pintail, teal and mallard
* the great green bush-cricket ('' Tettigonia viridissima''), and the marsh fritillary butterfly ('' Euphydryas aurinia'')
* six dragonflies including the emperor dragonfly ('' Anax imperator'').
See also
* List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Pembrokeshire
References
External links
Natural Resources Wales website
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Pembrokeshire
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