I collected this somewhat nondescript
Philonotis earlier in the week, during a visit to Pengwern Common, hoping that it might be
caespitosa. Unfortunately it did not key out cleanly as anything, though the highly unlikely
P. marchica came very close. So another one I'd welcome a second opinion of in the first instance. The presence of obvious distal papillae on the outer part of the leaf is more a feature of arnellii, though the leaves are not narrow or attenuated enough for that species. Perhaps more significant was the presence of axillary ovate bulbils on many shoots, this being a feature of
marchica, with
arnellii producing flagelliform axillary bulbils.
On a separate note it was good to record
Leucobryum glaucum at several points across the site, this being a surprisingly localised species in Gower. I suspect it does not cope well with regular burning?
Why shouldn't it be P marchica? Gower is plenty Mediterranean enough for it, and isn't so thoroughly worked that a Philonotis being overlooked for decades is impossible. It's common in much of Mediterranean Europe, and rather inexplicably restricted in Britain to Isle of Wight.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouragement Sam. Would you like to look at the voucher, or shall I send it to Tom?
ReplyDeleteThere's no need to involve me - best send it to Tom as he will know Philonotis marchica well from the Mediterranean.
ReplyDeleteTom inspected my voucher and seemed reasonably convinced it was just fontana, which can show distal papillae towards the leaf tip.
ReplyDelete