Worms Head jaunt

Devil's Bridge
bryos become scarcer beyond here, although there was a little Bryum kunzei
west of here along with the more regular salt-tolerant species

Sandra, myself and a couple of friends made a mid-morning trek to the outer Worm yesterday, in conditions breezier and chillier than expected. Due to the mid-day cut-off tide, there were only a few brief opportunities to search for bryophytes, the outcropping Limestone on the higher parts of the inner head appearing to be the most interesting part of the headland. There we no sheep on the headland, but there have clearly been animals out there for some time over the winter period judging by the amount of sheep dung on the ridge. Unsurprisingly I couldn't refind any Weissia levieri (recorded there by Smith in 1962) but a few additional species were added and the total for SS38Y which now stands at 37 (full list below). Note Worms Head is the only land within SS38.

view from high ground on inner head

view from middle head looking back to inner head
higher ground on south-facing dip slope of inner head location
for Tortula viridifolia, Bryum canariense & B. kunzei

T. viridifolia - Mediterranean-Atlantic element
note the rounded leaf tips with long excurrent nerve
and recurved margins, plus lack of a peristome

For the record, here's the list of species recorded on Worms Head (A.J.E. Smith, M.F.V. Corley & myself):

Acaulon muticum

Amblystegium serpens var. salinum

Barvula convoluta

Barbula unguiculata

Brachythecium albicans

Bryum argenteum

Bryum canariense

Bryum capillare

Bryum dichotomum

Bryum kunzei

Bryum pallens

Bryum rubens

Campyliadelphus chrysophyllus

Ceratodon purpureus

Didymodon fallax

Fissidens dubius

Funaria hygrometrica

Homalothecium sericeum

Hypnum cupressiforme var. lacunosum

Kindbergia praelonga

Metzgeria furcata

Phascum cuspidatum

Plagiomnium elatum

Scorpiurium circinatum

Syntrichia montana

Syntrichia ruralis

Tortella flavovirens

Tortella nitida

Tortula atrovirens

Tortula lanceola

Tortula protobryoides

Tortula viridifolia

Trichostomum brachydontium

Trichostomum crispulum

Weissia brachycarpa var. obliqua

Weissia controversa var. crispata

Weissia levieri