Monday 2 September 2019

Splachnum season

Marsh Fritillary larval web surveys can only mean one thing (apart from the obvious) - the chance to look for Splachnum species on herbivore dung in wet pasture. Today I came across a patch of young S. ampullaceum plants, on cattle dung in a valley mire on Fairwood Common. The only other Gower record of this moss is from pony dung in the same mire system three years ago.


Incidentally, having seen quite a bit of non-fruiting Splachnum in South Wales, I was delighted to chance across a splendid fruiting patch in the New Forest in July.

2 comments:

  1. I haven't seen much fruiting Splachnum either - I expect due to it mostly fruiting in summer, but I have done a lot of wetland habitat survey in summer in south Wales in the past - I guess it just isn't very common in these parts.

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