Swansea Copper Quarter

this looks very much like the quay area we looked at today (looks rather different now!)
there are some remarkable photos on line showing how this area once looked - search 'Copperopolis'

Sam and myself carried out a unsuccessful search for Scopelophila cataractae at a selection of sites with some of the last metalliferous spoil remnants of the Copperopolis legacy. My optimism for rediscovering the species in Swansea has been dampened a little after today's blank, but there are still pockets of land where the species might be found, so the challenge continues...

Despite the apparent absence of Scopelophila, important metalliferous bryophyte and lichen communities are still present in Swansea, but these are under pressure from  natural succession as-well-as ongoing redevelopment of the Copper Quarter. Thankfully steps are being made to safeguard the best examples of these remnants.

One plus from today was learning a new species, with the discovery of a strong population of Bryoerythrophyllum ferruginascens. Once the key characters were demonstrated to me by Sam, it immediately appeared so distinctive it was recognisable even at distance and we noted it in two tetrads. The dark red older leaves, with contrasting bright yellowy-green shoot tips create a distinctive hue on barren ground. This is one I suspect we will start seeing more frequently locally. First recorded by A.J.E. Smith at Craig-y-Llyn in 1961 and more recently Sharon Pilkington found it on the cliffs at Pennard, so it seems likely it can be found on suitable ground anywhere in the county.

B. ferruginascens showing up as
yellowy-speckled dark-bronze patches

location of photo above shown