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Magor Marsh
Magor Marsh is a wetland reserve, located on the Welsh side of the Severn Estuary. It is managed by the Gwent Wildlife Trust. It has a great variety of habitats, including damp meadow, hay meadows, sedge fen, reed bed, scrubland, scrub and wet woodland. There are also numerous reens and a large pond. Magor Marsh Nature Reserve is the richest site in Wales for wetland beetles and soldier-flies, and its pattern of drainage ditches and other features have remained unchanged since the 14th century. In March 2020 the reserve was featured in the BBC One programme ''Countryfile''. Geology The soil of Magor Marsh is mostly peat with a depth of around . Beneath this is alluvium laid down by the Severn Estuary. The level of water must be kept near the surface to preserve the peat. Wildlife Flora There are two meadow, hay meadows in Magor Marsh, maintained using traditional methods. The meadows are grazed during autumn and winter. The hay crop is mown in mid-summer to provide winter fee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gwent Wildlife Trust
Gwent Wildlife Trust ( cy, Ymddiriedolaeth Natur Gwent) (GWT) is a wildlife trust covering the area between the lower Wye and Rhymney rivers which forms the vice county of Monmouthshire in south-east Wales. It is a registered charity and a member of the Wildlife Trusts Partnership. History Its origins lie in the Monmouthshire Naturalists Trust, formed in 1963. In the 1980s the Trust was renamed the Gwent Trust for Nature Conservation, and then Gwent Wildlife Trust. Gwent was an administrative county between 1974 and 1996, covering a similar but not identical area to the historic county of Monmouthshire. The Trust's first objective, under the then presidency of FitzRoy Somerset, 4th Baron Raglan, was the conservation of Magor Marsh, the last remaining area of fenland on the Caldicot Level. It was particularly responsible for survey work, training programmes, and increasingly in educational projects and in campaigns against inappropriate development proposals, particularly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nature Reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for purposes of conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. They may be designated by government institutions in some countries, or by private landowners, such as charities and research institutions. Nature reserves fall into different IUCN categories depending on the level of protection afforded by local laws. Normally it is more strictly protected than a nature park. Various jurisdictions may use other terminology, such as ecological protection area or private protected area in legislation and in official titles of the reserves. History Cultural practices that roughly equate to the establishment and maintenance of reserved areas for animals date b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alluvium
Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is typically geologically young and is not consolidated into solid rock. Sediments deposited underwater, in seas, estuaries, lakes, or ponds, are not described as alluvium. Floodplain alluvium can be highly fertile, and supported some of the earliest human civilizations. Definitions The present consensus is that "alluvium" refers to loose sediments of all types deposited by running water in floodplains or in alluvial fans or related landforms. However, the meaning of the term has varied considerably since it was first defined in the French dictionary of Antoine Furetière, posthumously published in 1690. Drawing upon concepts from Roman law, Furetière defined ''alluvion'' (the F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Azure Damselfly
The azure damselfly (''Coenagrion puella'') is a species of damselfly found in most of Europe. It is notable for its distinctive black and blue colouring. They are commonly found around ponds and lakesides during the summer. Morphology Adults Males Adult male azure damselflies have a head and thorax patterned with blue and black. They have an azure blue abdomen patterned with black markings. The marking on the second segment of the abdomen is U-shaped, separated from the segment's narrow terminal black band. (This distinguishes it from the variable damselfly where the U-shape is joined to the terminal band with a black line.) Segments three to five are blue with broader black terminal bands, lacking the forward-pointing projection the upper surface which adult male common blue damselfly has. Segment six has a similar pattern but with more restricted blue and a broader area of black, and segment seven is mostly black, with just a narrow blue area at the base. Segment eight ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caltha Palustris
''Caltha palustris'', known as marsh-marigold and kingcup, is a small to medium size perennial herbaceous plant of the buttercup family, native to marshes, fens, ditches and wet woodland in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It flowers between April and August, dependent on altitude and latitude, but occasional flowers may occur at other times. Description ''Caltha palustris'' is a high, hairless, fleshy, perennial, herbaceous plant that dies down in autumn and overwinters with buds near the surface of the marshy soil. The plants have many, thick strongly branching roots. Its flowering stems are hollow, erect or more or less decumbent. The alternate true leaves are in a rosette, each of which consist of a leaf stem that is about four times as long as the kidney-shaped leaf blade, itself between long and wide, with a heart-shaped foot, a blunt tip, and a scalloped to toothed, sometime almost entire margin particularly towards the tip. In their youth the le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Typha
''Typha'' is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ... as bulrush or reedmace, in American English as reed, cattail, or punks, in Australia as cumbungi or bulrush, in Canada as bulrush or cattail, and in New Zealand as raupo. Other taxa of plants may be known as bulrush, including some Cyperaceae, sedges in ''Scirpus'' and related genera. The genus is largely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, where it is found in a variety of wetland habitats. The rhizomes are edible. Evidence of preserved starch grains on grinding stones suggests they were already eaten in Europe 30,000 years ago. Description ''Typha'' are a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Equisetum Fluviatile
''Equisetum fluviatile'', the water horsetail or swamp horsetail, is a vascular plant that commonly grows in dense colonies along freshwater shorelines or in shallow water in ponds, swamps, ditches, and other sluggish or still waters with mud bottoms. It is a perennial herbaceous species, growing 30–100 cm (rarely 140 cm) tall with erect dark green stems 2–8 mm in diameter, smooth, with about 10–30 fine ridges. At each joint, the stem has a whorl of tiny, black-tipped scale leaves 5–10 mm long. Many, but not all, stems also have whorls of short ascending and spreading branches 1–5 cm long, with the longest branches on the lower middle of the stem. The side branches are slender, dark green, and have 1–8 nodes with a whorl of five scale leaves at each node. The water horsetail has the largest central hollow of the horsetails, with 80% of the stem diameter typically being hollow. The stems readily pull apart at the joints, and both fertile and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lythrum Salicaria
''Lythrum salicaria'' or purple loosestrifeFlora of NW Europe''Lythrum salicaria'' is a flowering plant belonging to the family Lythraceae. It should not be confused with other plants sharing the name loosestrife that are members of the family Primulaceae. Other names include spiked loosestrife and purple Lythrum. This herbaceous perennial is native to Europe and Asia, and possibly Australia. Etymology and other names The generic name ''Lythrum'' is derived from the Greek ‘lythron’, meaning blood, in reference to the flower colour in some species.Gledhill D. 1985. ''The Names of Plants''. Cambridge University Press However, Pliny (A.D. 23-79) stated that ''Lythrum'' is named for Lysimachus, an army general and friend of Alexander the Great. ‘’Lysimachus’’ is derived from the Greek ‘’lysis’’, meaning ‘’loosing’’ and ‘’mache’’, meaning strife. Mitich LW. 1999. ''Lythrum salicaria'' L. ''Weed Technology'' 13: 843 – 846. The specific epithet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eupatorium Cannabinum
''Eupatorium cannabinum'', commonly known as hemp-agrimony, or holy rope, is a herbaceous plant in the family Asteraceae. It is a robust perennial native to many areas of Europe. The alkaloids may be present in the plant material as their N-oxides. Pharmacology ''Eupatorium cannabinum'' is used in the European traditional medicine as anti-inflammatory agent for respiratory tract diseases, and several of its sesquiterpene lactone Sesquiterpene lactones (SLs) are a class of sesquiterpenoids that contain a lactone ring. They are most often found in plants of the family Asteraceae (daisies, asters). Other plant families with SLs are Umbelliferae (celery, parsley, carrots) an ... constituents were identified to have anti-inflammatory effect in isolated human neutrophils, with the anti-inflammatory action of the sesquiterpene lactone eupatoriopicrin being verified also in mouse peritonitis model. ;Subspecies *''Eupatorium cannabinum'' L. subsp. ''cannabinum'' - most of species r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phragmites
''Phragmites'' () is a genus of four species of large perennial reed grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Taxonomy The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, maintained by Kew Garden in London, accepts the following four species: * '' Phragmites australis'' ( Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. – cosmopolitan * '' Phragmites japonicus'' Steud. – Japan, Korea, Ryukyu Islands, Russian Far East * '' Phragmites karka'' ( Retz.) Trin. ex Steud. – tropical Africa, southern Asia, Australia, some Pacific Islands, invasive in New Zealand * '' Phragmites mauritianus'' Kunth – central + southern Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius The cosmopolitan common reed has the generally accepted botanical name ''Phragmites australis''. (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. About 130 other synonyms have been proposed. Examples include ''Phragmites communis'' Trin., ''Arundo phragmites'' L., and ''Phragmites vulgaris'' (Lam.) Crép. (illegitimate name). Wildlife in reed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dipsacus
''Dipsacus'' is a genus of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae. The members of this genus are known as teasel, teazel or teazle. The genus includes about 15 species of tall herbaceous biennial plants (rarely short-lived perennial plants) growing to tall. ''Dipsacus'' species are native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa. Etymology The genus name (''Dipsacus'') is derived from the Greek word for thirst (''dipsa'') and refers to the cup-like formation made where sessile leaves merge at the stem. The name ''teasel'' derives from words such as Old English ''tǣsl'', ''tǣsel''; relating to the verb "to tease" – the dried heads of the plant were once used in the textile industry to raise the nap on woolen cloth. Description Teasels are easily identified with their prickly stem and leaves, and the inflorescence of purple, dark pink, lavender or white flowers that form a head on the end of the stem(s). The inflorescence is ovoid, long and broad, with a basal whorl of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cirsium Dissectum
''Cirsium dissectum'', also known as meadow thistle, is an erect perennial herb. It is found in England, Wales, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Norway, etc. It is found in fens and less acidic peat bogs i.e. it prefers damp boggy areas. Description ''Cirsium dissectum'' grows 15 to 50 cm tall. It resembles a more slender version of ''Cirsium heterophyllum'' in having a grooved cottony stem and lanceolate shaped leaves, that have prickles and not spines. However the leaves are narrower (under 3 cm), less hairy underneath, and hairy on top. The flower heads are 2 to 3 cm long, the florets being dark red/purple, flowering from June until August. The plant has runners. Similar species ''Cirsium tuberosum'' or tuberous thistle, has tuberous roots rather than runners, and the leaves are twice pinnated. It is found in Calcareous grasslands but very rare. It has been recorded in Britain in the counties of Cambridg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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