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| SN599019, the search restricted to the yellow areas |
At just over 40m a.s.l., Mynydd Lliw is hardy mountainous, nor is it very natural, most of the substrate comprising restored colliery spoil. I've done very little bryologising this week, so I took Alfie out for an hour this afternoon to a part of this site I've not been to before - an area that looked interesting on the aerial images. Following today's downpours, the mosses were luxuriant and it turned out that the brown areas on the aerials were concrete bases dominated by a deep cushion of
Didymodon ferrugineus, with some patches of cf.
D. rigidulus (both species shown together below).
Of the 26 species noted growing on a thin crust of detritus over the concrete, others of interest included - in decreasing abundance - Trichostumum crispulum, Bryoerythrophyllum ferruginascens, Calliergonella lindbergii, Riccia glauca, R. sorocarpa and Tortula modica.
Did you check the Ceratodon for conicus?! Given that this has been found on concrete pads in Gloucestershire it could be mixed with Didymodon ferrugineus in Glamorgan...
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough I did check it out, given the abundance of calcicoles and the fact it looked very rigid and very pointy. I had a quick look at the photos in the FB article and decided the nerve was not excurrent enough, but perhaps I'll section a few leaves just to double check as it did seem quite odd when I saw first saw it...
ReplyDeleteI found some Ceratodon on concrete in Cardiff Docks a few weeks ago and got excited, but it was pretty convincingly just purpureus. On closer inspection it was growing on a thin layer of soil over the concrete, and given the location the soil may well have been acidified by pollution.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos by the way. I'm still to catch up with B. ferruginascens, hopefully not overlooking it. It looks quite distinctive in the photo.
ReplyDeleteThe golden shoot tips and almost maroon lower leaves give it a distinctive look and the first thing I've noticed when you put a lens on it is how opaque and matt it is (note the leaves are wet in the lower image giving a false shiney look). I've now found it at 4 widespread tetrads since Sam first showed it to me in April. No doubt it's thin on the ground, but there's a good chance you have it in the east as the sites where I've recorded it have been varied, but unremarkable.
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