More Tortella torture

dry and wetted vouchers of T. tortuosa  from Port Eynon Point

Recent changes in Tortella taxanomy inspired me to look a bit more critically at a specimen of Tortella tortuosa I collected on the headland at Port Eynon. Whilst I'm sure it is said that species, it took a good while to find any leaves with quadrate superficial cells on the dorsal, upper costa - eventually I did find some but most lacked quadrate cells from leaf-base to tip.

Wisley Wonderland

During a visit to Wisley Royal Horticultural Society Garden during a pre-Christmas family get-together, we came across a wall constructed from lumps of tufa outside the alpine greenhouses. The range of calcicoles (clearly long-established) was quite impressive and I was surprised to see a few species outside of their normal range, e.g. Preissia quadrata, Tortella tortuosa and Leicolea badensis which I guess will have been introduced with the rock. Several of the more interesting species of these aren't shown on the NBN and Preissia appears to be unrecorded in Surrey. Whilst this is a largely introduced community, those species that are thriving would seem worthy of documenting.

Tortella torment

Cliffs at Penmaen overlooking Threecliffs Bay
where all of Glamorgan's four Tortella species grow

Below left: Tortella sp. growing with Pleurochaete squarrosa (in centre of the image) becoming crisped. Below right: T. flavovirens sample collection point.

My records show the Nationally Scarce Tortella inclinata was first recorded in the Penmaen-Threecliffs area by Sam in 2010, who subsequently found it to be locally abundant on a section of cliff slope with scattered patches elsewhere in the vicinity. Although I recorded it nearby last year for my first time, the collection was more fortuitous than anything else and in an attempt to learn the field appearance of this species, yesterday, I took a few images and collected a sample of what I thought was probably inclinata growing abundantly on a sandy cliff slope about 100m east of Sam’s large colony. Under the microscope it was clear I was wrong as the costa on the adaxial side was covered by quadrate cells (except the third near the base). Furthermore, the leaves became highly crisped upon drying so unfortunately all I'd photographed and collected was flavovirens. [At least that's what I thought! After making this post I found a second sample I'd left in my coat pocket, which I was convinced at the time was probably inclinata; to my relief this turned out to be the case. Which species is represented in the general shot above alongside the Pleurochaete I'm now not sure as there's not really enough detail in the image. The difference between the two species using a lens is in fact rather striking when they are side-by-side, the shoots of inclinata being larger and more erect, with a stronger nerve appearing more prominent in a more boat-shaped leaf apex, reminiscent of Trichostomum crispulum]. Plants showing these characters were widespread on the cliff I looked at, but it's interesting that both species grow mixed in together.

Tortella flavovirens

Tortella inclinata

T. flavovirens foreground, T. inclinata behind

After reading Smith I'm now wondering how similar the resemblance is between flavovirens and the short-leaved form of tortuosa and if there is a safe way of separating the two, as he only mentions the degree of crisping upon drying; this was considerable in my specimen, which might indicate tortuosa?

For interest here are the vc41 distribution maps of our four Tortella species: