Tuesday, 8 August 2017

Pogonatum urnigerum in lowland Monmouthshire


The recent rainy 'summer' has turned my mind to bryophytes, and I have knocked off a few VC35 tetrads in lunch-breaks and evenings.  This evening I visited SO30T, south of Clytha in the heart of lowland Monmouthshire.  Most of the 60 or so bryophytes were mundane, although I have a few Orthotrichum to check.  However, I was astonished to find a large colony of Pogonatum urnigerum on a cobble-lined bank by a pasture.  This is an uncommon species in the county, although it is widely scattered in the west at ca. 300m altitude.  The only colony in the east is at Trellech Hill Quarry (280m altitude).  The Clytha colony is at just 145m altitude, and is thus in genuinely lowland Monmouthshire.


I've just checked and I notice there are still records listed for Glamorgan that need reallocating to Monmouthshire. Most, if not all are Peter's, but it is probably something Dave Slade can sort out as the records came via SEWBReC. (Barry)

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