Tuesday 21 March 2017

Went looking for Daltonia, found Herzogiella

I had a quick jaunt up to Llantrisant Forest (ST0284) this morning, with Daltonia firmly in mind. I followed the Nant Cwm-du from the lane down to the River Ely, but unsurprisingly there was no Daltonia to be found (it probably wasn't humid enough - the conifers being largely hemlock and larch rather than spruce - and there were no willows). There was ample compensation though, with a small patch of fruiting Herzogiella seligeri on the end of an old conifer log.


 

Close associates were Tetraphis pellucida, Mnium hornum and Pseudotaxiphyllum elegans.

It was nice to see some Bog Beacon too, the fruitboides poking their heads out of a shallow pool which also held some Sphagnum squarrosum.

The bryo total for ST08H is now into the 70s.

5 comments:

  1. Oh that's lovely, just the 2nd county record, the first being at Bonvilston Forestry in 2013, recorded by Sam. You seem to have a better eye for Pleurocarps than I do!

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  2. Thanks but I doubt that Barry - it would be hard to miss those stonking capsules, more likely it has an eastern distribution in the county given this is about as far west as it's been recorded in Wales.

    It's about 10km north of the Hensol/Bonvilston site. Not sure how many other Welsh records there are - there are at least a couple more dots shown in the atlas.

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  3. Great record George. It looks as if it might be creeping westwards into conifer plantations.

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  4. It's also at Dingestow, a Radnorshire site and I think in the VC35 Wye Valley - it's very eastern though.

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  5. Thanks Sam - perhaps the 5th Welsh record then. Llantrisant Forest doesn't exactly have a continental feel about it!

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