Puzzling Mellte Campylopus
This one has been frustrating me as it does not key out using Smith. Although I'm suspecting it's just a robust, falcate form of Campylopus flexuosus, I'm posting it in the hope someone will correct me and tell me it's something much nicer, but I'm not too expectant. For ref it was growing below Sgwd Clun-Gwyn Isaf on a dry (but obviously humid), north-facing rock face (SN92311059), with associates such as Hymenophyllum tunbridgense, Scapania gracilis, Diplophyllum albicans, etc. Sunday's excursion was not a bryologising trip unfortunately, but there were plenty things of interest I noted along the waterfall loop. There was nothing that hasn't been recorded previously, but hopefully a few additional centisquare records will help with documenting the riches of this lovely valley.
The species to hope for would be C setifolius, but the nerve section with plenty of adaxial cells looks like C flexuosus I'm afraid. It's highly likely there are several taxa within C flexuosus, but nobody seems brave enough to unravel them.
ReplyDelete...and if you were feeling like really pushing the envelope you'd look at the characters of C subporodictyon!
ReplyDeleteThanks for confirming my suspicions Sam. The section looked good for setifolius, but the appearance of the plant clearly didn't!
ReplyDeleteI pulled out some old records sheets yesterday and there was a note at bottom saying I had seen Ptilidium pulcherrimum at almost the same spot in 2002 .... Unfortunately my memory of it has completely faded... The joy of getting old.
ReplyDeleteOh that would be lovely Graham, a species I have yet to see. I may resort to twitching the colony you report a year or so ago.
ReplyDelete