Scapania irrigua, Foel Fynyddau
About 2 miles up the track there are some old log piles at the side of the track, which I presume are pine. Some are plastered in bryophytes with Nowellia curvifolia and Tetraphis pellucida.
Log pile covered in bryophytes, Foel Fynyddau
On some piles we noted several patches of Riccardia palmata (the conspicuous, darker green patches in the photo above), which is a nice record for the Afan valley. It is found in a similar habitat in Crynant Forest, but it seems to be rather scarce in NPT despite the abundance of suitable habitat.
Riccardia palmata, Foel Fynyddau
Other things of note along this route include abundant Dryopteris cambrensis and the only population of Tricholoma equestre (Yellow Knight) that I've ever seen in Wales (see recent post on Gower Wildlife blog).
Great selection of species Charles, the Riccardia in particular is very nice although Yellow Knight sounds a really exciting find.
ReplyDeleteMy recording today involved a visit to the river below Glais bridge, where Schistidium platyphyllum was the main highlight. There was a good supporting cast of riparian species on some Limestone boulders in the river, including Hygrohypnum luridum, Hygroamblystegium fluviatile, Cinclidotus & Orthothrichum cupulatum, helping take SN70A onto 79spp.
Great stuff Barry, particularly since there seem to be few records for the Tawe. We've looked at sections that are in NPT (between Trebanos and Ystalyfera) where there is a small amount of Leskea and a population of Mnium marginatum. Haven't' been able to find Homalia there, although it is frequent along the River Neath. Cinclidotus is interesting. We see it on the Neath, Tawe and Afan and you had it near Glais, but it was regarded as rare in the Flora. I wonder if it has a western bias in the county. Do you see much of it George? The distribution of these riparian species is interesting.
ReplyDeleteI recently found Cinclidotus growing in a concrete culvert in a small roadside ditch at Llandewi, in west Gower, the main associates being Fontinalis and Leptodictyum, demonstrating its adaptability.
ReplyDeleteCinclidotus seems fairly common on the Taff around Cardiff. I haven't done any riparian recording for a while, must get back to it.
ReplyDeleteI'm slowly getting a feel for riparian bryos, but still find the plasticity of some species perplexing at times and am forever bring home common pleurocarps to be checked. There's a lot of riparian habitat that needs looking at, and in my case previously worked sections probably need revisiting!
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