Miscellaneous December mosses (and liverworts!)

Here are a few images of some interesting observations I've not found time to post about over the last few weeks of 2018:

A rubbishy record shot of Campylopus subulatus collected from a forest track at Gwaun Nant-y-bwch during an excursion with Charles on 11th Dec. This is just the third Glamorgan site.

Lopidium concinnum (Hypopterygiaceae) was the most conspicuous of four aliens noted on a Dicksonia antarctica 'trunk' in Swansea's Wyevale on 20th December. Heteroscyphus fissistipus was the only other species I managed to identify. All were recorded as live, although the exposed parts of the Lopidium shoots were dead/bleached.

On the same day I was at Wyevale, I did a quick check of the Kilvey Hill Cephaloziella calyculata colony, but failed to find anything resembling integerrima, the only only other Cephaloziella noted being divaricata. The colony was highly fertile, with male plants (photo) and gemmiferous shoots abundant (photo). Perianth development was, however, uniformly at a very rudimentary stage and well behind those of integerrima seen recently at Crofty. There are still plenty opportunities for exploring unsurveyed areas at this site - i.e. most of it!

The distinctively scented Lophozia bicrenata was found growing with Vezdaea retigera on mine spoil on Cadle Heath Common in Swansea on 21st Dec.

Lophozia ventricosa var. silvicola is occasional on Sphagnum papillosum on Cefn Bryn, 31st Dec. As reported by Sam in the Pembs Bryoflora, it seems this defunct, yet distinctive taxon is the default var. on Sphagnum in our area.

A good quantity of Marchantia polymorpha cf subsp. montivagans "Mountain Liverwort" was encountered mostly 'in stream' in a base-enriched runnel on Cefn Bryn, also on 31st Dec. The large thalli clearly lacked black midribs that characterise subsp. polymorpha, though were darkened a little, as shown by the example below, photographed in natural day light (it was almost dark by the time I got to this spot and to make things worst as I was walking back up the hill I realised I must have dropped my phone in the runnel - fortunately I did manage to find it before the light completely went, sitting amongst Montia in-stream, half soaked, but still working!). I failed to get to grips with the ventral scales of the Marchantia, but I will take another look before sending off a voucher for verification of this potential county first.

End of year square-bash at Rhosaman

An afternoon square-bash in SN71G took the square total from 5 to 83. I spent most time searching an area of colliery spoil which produced 63 species directly on spoil; nothing exciting, those of general interest included Aneura pinguis, Archidium alternifolium, Aulacomnium palustre (unusually plants were scattered over a steep dry bank with a broken sward), Calliergonella lindbergii, Gymnostomum aeruginosum, Racomitrium ericoides, R. fasciculare, R. lanuginosum, Riccardia multifida, Sciuro-hypnum plumosum (surprisingly frequent on shaley ground). Despite a decent return I was disappointed not to find any Ptilidium, nor any Weissia or Fossombronia spp. to name but a few I was anticipating.  I didn’t have time to walk the wooded banks of the Aman, which could well have taken the square total over 100 ... another day perhaps!  I did manage to take a very quick look in the river by the footbridge, where Hygrohypnum ochraceum covered the larger rocks along with a little Marchantia polymorpha subsp. polymorpha. This may have been my last bryophyte outing in what’s been another very enjoyable year of recording. Best wishes to all for the year ahead...

PS. If anyone can put a name to the brown lichen I’d be interested to know.

 Racomitrium ericoides-Cladonia portentosa spoil community

  Sciuro-hypnum plumosum 

  Aulacomnium palustre

  Lophozia ventricosa 

  unidentified lichen

 Hygrohypnum ochraceum

Misty Garth

I made an early dash up Garth Hill this morning, before the rest of the family were awake. My target was the sandstone outcrops on the eastern side of the hill at ST112837. I had a poke around the outcrops slightly further south (ST112836) in August 2014, but wanted to complete the job in case I'd missed anything.

Most of the species were the same as those recorded that day: a lot of Racomitrium heterostichum, quite a bit of Ptilidium ciliare, plus numerous other common acidophiles. I did find a few extra taxa though, including Pohlia nutans (fruiting frequently), Lophozia ventricosa, Calypogeia fissa and Cephaloziella divaricata.

Lophozia ventricosa

The heavens opened while I was on the hilltop and I got back to the car soaked to the skin, so I hope at least a few of these are new to the very well recorded ST18B (167 taxa on Barry's latest map - mostly from several visits by bryological luminaries to the woodland habitats at Coed-y-bedw).

RCT Diary

Forestry road south of Cwmparc RCT

A fairly steep and impressively engineered forestry road took us from the A4061 south of Cwmparc up to Mynydd Maendy allowing us to add some new species to the list for SS99M.  On the way up we recorded some typical forestry road species and noted a small amount of Didymodon luridus on the stonework of the drainage channel that runs the length of the road. Above this the landscape gives way to upland grazing pasture which didn't look very promising, but we headed for a small sandstone outcrop in the Nant Ian valley above Ton Pentre. The flora on the outcrop was not particularly interesting but included some Pohlia elongata in a wet shaded crevice in the crumbling rock face. However, below the outcrop in wet, stony peat there was an interesting liverwort flora which consisted of Diplophyllum albicans, Gymnocolea inflata, Marsupella emarginata and a brownish-green Lophozia which didn't look like ventricosa. 

Lophozia sudetica in Nant Ian valley

Although we couldn't find any gemmae, several features indicate Lophozia sudetica. Firstly, the  colour and secondly, the leaves have very shallow notches - compare with L. ventricosa in photograph below. Thirdly the mean leaf cell size (18.75 x 23.75 microns), and the range of sizes recorded (22 measurements), are well within the range reported for L. sudetica and smaller than those reported for L. ventricosa.

Lophozia ventricosa

This brings the tally for SS99M to a respectable 80.

Blustery and bleak on the Blorenge

I had two targets on the colliery spoil between the Blorenge and Blaenavon and failed on both: Lophocolea bispinosa doesn't seem to have reached the eastern Valleys yet, and Buxbaumia aphylla was always going to be a long-shot :-)  The wind and drizzle didn't help.

Anyway, I made separate DAFOR lists for a heather/crowberry-dominated colliery tip face (21 spp including Lophozia ventricosa silvicola and Cephaloziella hampeana), and a much more open, parched tip top (6 spp), and also found some Lophozia bicrenata on the side of a gully between two tips.

 A short trip north to Cwm Ifor, where a stream has carved a narrow ravine at the junction of the Millstone Grit and Carboniferous Limestone, produced a completely different flora.  Neckera crispa was amazingly abundant and was fruiting copiously, and there were various other calcicoles including Scapania aspera and Jungermannia atrovirens, although I couldn't see any sign of several of the notable species I found in the ravine in 2000/2003.  An outcrop of Millstone Grit above the ravine held abundant Barbilophozia attenuata and there were a few patches of Sphagnum squarrosum in a flush. 

My entire 1.5 hour visit was spent in tetrad SO21K, which is one of the richest in VC35 with >200 species recorded.  I visited many times between 1999 and 2003, including with Graham and with the Border Bryologists, so it was nice to return to old haunts.  Perhaps surprisingly, given previous coverage, I added 11 species to the tetrad total, so the day was useful.