I took Bea and Johnny to Puzzle Wood in the Forest of Dean today. It's an absolutely marvellous place - straight out of the movie sets (literally) - with deep 'scowles' left by ancient iron ore mining in limestone rocks. I have been several times over the years, and I guess it's the first place I was ever aware of noticing moss (stringing some kind into Filmy Fern when I was about 10). This was Bea's third visit, and I jotted down a list of 35 species when we last came to the wood in 1999. These included the calcicoles Cololejeunea rossettiana (photo), Fissidens gracilifolius, Jungermannia atrovirens (photo), Leiocolea turbinata, Neckera crispa (photo) and Taxiphyllum wissgrillii, all of which I saw today as well.
There were a few additions: Dicranum montanum (photo) and Nowellia curvifolia on logs, Pseudotaxiphyllum elegans on sandstone and Plagiomnium rostratum on limestone. I am sure that there's more to be found if one didn't have to keep rushing on at the pace of a 7 year old!
Probably the most notable thing, however, was the absence of Sematophyllum substrumulosum. I looked at many, many conifer logs, Yew bases and fences made of Yew branches and couldn't find any at all. Conditions seem perfect and it's less than 5km away in NE Monmouthshire. I suspect that a return visit in 10 or 20 years time will show a different picture, as I'm sure that substrum will be well established by then.
Have had many good hide and session there, but like you never had opportunity to look very closely at the bryos.
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