Cwm Clydach (SN683066)

Today I spent the last hour of gloom in SN60Y, this being the last Swansea square (excluding coastal and boundary squares) below the nominal 60 species, in fact only 9 prior to today. I still have a good few samples to look at but the square should now be well over the mark, despite not looking at epiphytes, tarmac or concrete. My main effort was focussed on a small feeder stream of the Clydach, which was found to support an fantastic abundance of Odontoschisma denudatum on numerous logs and stumps scattered throughout the woodland (a few examples shown in the photos along with general views of this rather nice site).

On checking the database, despite my choice of stream being totally random, I was amazed to find out this was the precise location where Alan Orange recorded O. denudatum on 15 Mar 1998. The only other species in the system recorded by Alan that day was Solenostoma obovatum, but from a different part of the Clydach Valley. I did collect a Solenostoma sample today, which I've yet to look at. The Clydach Valley has great potential and seems to have received little attention, so another site I shall be looking to revisit for a more critical look...