Nowellia curvifolia was noted growing on a small, well-decayed, fallen branch of Corsican Pine under one of the conifer blocks at
Whiteford Burrows on Tuesday, this being unexpected at such a dry and coastal location. Lophocolea heterophylla was the only
direct associate noted on the log, although the usual larger pleurocarps Pseudoscleropodium purum and Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus were abundant
in the immediate vicinity.
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| Nowellia growing on log centre-front, an unexpectedly well-illuminated and dry coastal site |
Sam’s Pembs and Carms bryofloras show just one coastal record
for Pembs in what appears to be a sheltered location and David Holyoak’s
Cornish bryoflora also only shows one coastal locality. The new atlas however, does indicate that this is a species which is spreading, so perhaps we can expect to find it in the lowlands a little more frequently.
The distribution map shows Nowellia is well-recorded by Charles and Hilary in woodlands of NPT, although it would be interesting to know in which habitats and on what timber they have found it?
In NPT it is most frequently encountered and most abundant on decorticated logs of deciduous trees in cool, moist, shaded habitats (often near streams) in upland sessile oak woodland. In those places it occasionally grows with Odontoschisma denudatum - they are both Boreo-temperate species. However, we occasionally see it on decorticated conifer timber in plantations and, of course, there is an enormous amount of that substrate in NPT. Clearly, there is potential for significant range expansion in Glamorgan. In European boreal ecosystems it is common on conifer logs.
ReplyDeleteThe nearest locations to the coast where we have recorded it are Briton Ferry and Pontrhydyfen.