The Natural Futures survey team visited the Somerset Wildlife Trust reserve of Brimley Hill Mire near Churchstanton on the 22nd, 23rd and 24th of July 2015. They surveyed the botany of the whole site and recorded some of the really rare local specialities that make the absolutely stunning site so special.
Species of note included:
- Three species of insectivorous plant, round-leaved sundew, oblong-leaved sunded and pale butterwort;
- Striking frilly pink spikes of marsh spotted orchids;
- A rich community of sphagnum mosses, particularly suited to the water-logged terrain;
- A very rare little sedge, known as the white beak-sedge, only found at one other site in Somerset;
- A rare St. John's-wort, the marsh St. John's-wort, again only present at a very few sites in Somerset.
The site represents an excellent example of springline mire, a habitat special to the Blackdown Hills, and contains a suite of species very rare nationally.
The site is very much worth visiting and, being owned and managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust, is open access. For more on how to visit, see the Trust's website http://www.somersetwildlife.org/product169.html.
