A 30 minute lunch-time walk on the levelled coal spoil tip (SS593994) near my house produced a small number additions to the list of species found growing directly on spoil at this site, taking the total to 55 [137 for the tetrad]. These included
Bryoerythrophyllum ferruginescens, Ctendium molluscum, Drepanocladus aduncus, Pohlia annotina &
Trichostomum crispulum, the calcicole elements most likely a consequence of the limestone chippings used to dress part of the site. The most interesting addition was
Fissidens incurvus, which owing to its unusual appearance and close association with
Archidium alternifolium and
Weissia brachycarpa (although
F. adianthoides was the most abundant associate) may relate to the defunct var.
tamarindifolius. Although I can’t find images to convince myself this is a correct assumption, the specimens I saw today were quite different from all my previous encounters with this species, so much so, that when I saw it I wasn’t actually sure what species it was. By way of scale, the full graticule on the composite image is 2.5mm. I know Sam knows this possibly better than anyone, so any opinion on my specimen would be welcome.
There's some info on Fissidens incurvus var tamarindifolius in my Pembs Flora. Yours looks a lot like mine: much taller and more slender than the usual calcicole incurvus, with short leaves. I seem to remember it's treated as a good taxon by the world expert on Fissidens, but never had a champion in Britain. Definitely one to describe in your record comments, and to keep a specimen of.
ReplyDeleteI checked your Pembs account earlier to see if you'd seen it on spoil and it all seemed to tie in perfectly. I'll hang on to my specimen and will annotate the record as suggested.
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