The target tetrad (SS99M) had only 22 bryophyte records before we set out, but we managed to bring it up to a modest 55 after a couple of hours. Surprisingly, we couldn't find any Colura but the Sitka plantation here is relatively young and a bit isolated from the nearest forests in the Rhondda and Gwynfi valleys which do. Highlights were a local patch of Loeskeobryum brevirostre and stretches of forest tracks with nice mixtures of liverworts that included Aneura pinguis, Leiocolea badensis, Jungermannia spp. and Preissia quadrata. We've not seen P. quadrata in forestry before, so this was a nice addition to the forest track list.
The most abundant Jungermannia species was dark green, pleasnatly scented and decked with abundant perianths.
I couldn't find any male plants, so I hesitate in saying that these plants are dioecious. However, there aren't any obvious male structures on the leaves (or bracts) below the perianth, so they don't appear to be paroecious - the arrows in the two lower photos point to the upper pair of leaves/bracts below the female bracts. The perianths don't have an obvious beak at their apex like those of J. pumila, but resemble those of J. atrovirens, which is known to colonise forest tracks in Ireland and Wales. Please comment.
There was also a large population of Huperzia selago in the heathy verge along the track and in another RCT plantation to the north-east we recently recorded a massive population of Lycopodium clavatum. It's a joy to see these clubmosses doing so well in these forestry habitats.
This tetrad contains some nice rock outcrops and a bit of urban habitat that we haven't yet looked at, so there's more to be added.
Great effort in that weather and a lovely photo of a genus that I need to check up on every time - which I will do once I stop puzzling over some Syntrichia specimens I collected from roof in Pendine today...
ReplyDeleteJungermannia si certainly a tricky genus in my limited experience. And don't get me started on Syntrichia - I used to think I had these sorted, but you know how it is...the more you see the more confusing it gets!
ReplyDeleteLooks pretty good for atrovirens from what I can see, though some of the characters mentioned by Paten aren't visible in your shots. Seems the most plausible species too. Well done with your club-mosses BTW, I need to get onto forest tracks more often by the sound of it.
ReplyDeleteI agree that's dioicous female J atrovirens. I've seen it on limestone-surfaced tracks in Ireland a few times.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad we all have agreement on this. I think we are going to find that J. atrovirens is quite widespread on forest tracks in our region. It is particularly abundant along tracks on Mynydd Ton and in forestry below Craig y Llyn. I note that Jeff Bates (in The Mosses and Liverworts of Mid-West Wales) deleted 18 quadrat records of J. atrovirens from the database because of uncertainties in identifications based on examination of sterile material.
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