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Wednesday 13 April 2016

Sausages and Thyme

Jamie Bevan spotted some String-of-sausage lichen (Usnea articulata) in the Jersey Marine Alder-Willow Carr this morning, near the Tennant Canal tow path. It's a great record for NPT, although all the indications suggest that this rare, pollution sensitive species is now expanding its range in south west Britain. It was a good excuse for a leisurely afternoon stroll.

Usnea articulata, Jersey Marine (SS71109382)

The Alder-Willow Carr here also has a very significant population of Plagiomnium elatum (Tall Thyme-moss), which for some reason had not been recorded in the MM data base. This rather attractive moss is locally abundant on the wet woodland floor near the tow path and it is looking particularly fine at the moment. It appears to be rather scarce in Glamorgan overall, but there is a robust population in Jersey Marine.

Plagiomnium elatum, Jersey Marine

Plagiomnium elatum, Jersey Marine

Oxyrhynchium speciosum is also quite common in the wood and there is a small amount of Colura. 
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2 comments:

  1. Barry Stewart14 April 2016 at 07:44

    That looks like a really nice colony and is a new addition to the NPT bryoflora. Interestingly the only Gower record is from Worms Head (Corley 1967) which seems somewhat anomalous? Lovely pics by the way, the Plagiomnium really looks to be at its best and the Usnea has some juicy-looking sausages.

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  2. sambbryo14 April 2016 at 22:34

    1960s concepts of Plagiomnium were pretty different, and even in the 90s I heard claims of P elatum and P ellipticum from dry places where P affine and P rostratum are the norm. Goodness, in the 60s the genus was still subsumed in Mnium!

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