Wednesday 18 February 2015

Coscinodon cribrosus (in Cornwall)

Walking along a coastal cliff top in north Cornwall at the weekend, the photo of Coscinodon in Sam's Pembs flora suddenly popped into my head. The loose slaty rocks looked just right for it. Sure enough, a few minutes further along the coast, there were numerous cushions of Coscinodon in a small area covering a few square metres. I didn't see any more after that, but I'm sure it would have been present further down the slumping cliffs.

Coscinodon cribrosus cushions
Coscinodon cribrosus with rather short hair points
David Holyoak's Cornish bryophyte atlas shows only 6 tetrads for this species,but the known distribution includes SX1395 where I happened to be walking. A nice new species for me anyway.

3 comments:

  1. Well spotted, George! Coscinodon is also in Carms, but only at a single site. I'm afraid I think the chances of it being in Glamorgan are pretty tiny, although an inland record from a shaley upland crag is not impossible: it's present at several localities in mid and north Wales.

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  2. Yes, it would be an excellent find in upland NPT or RCT!

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  3. That's a fabulous moss George, if only......

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