This is exactly the sort of habitat where I have seen Sphagnum russowii in Scotland and it had the right jizz. Microscopic examination confirmed it had the lingulate rather than triangular stem leaves, with a mostly plane apex, and 4 rather than 5 branches, which separate it from most other possibilities. (The specimen has also now been confirmed by Tom Blockeel). We saw it in at least two locations on this north facing bank, but there could be more as we subsequently returned our attention back to the crags, so it would be good to do a follow up visit and get a handle on its distribution.
That's a fantastic addition to the VC41 bryoflora Karen, and it looks like it is a fair way from the nearest record. Well done.
ReplyDeleteI've added this record to the County Lists page on the blog, along with other new county records I've spotted by trawling the blog as far back as February 2017 (when Barry added some new species to the Lists). I may have missed some though - if anyone spots any omissions please let me know.
Yes a quality county addition, very nice find.
ReplyDeleteFunily enough I recently bumped into it just over the Brecknock border in Ceredigion, where it occurred as scattered shoots amongst other Sphagnum species on a heathy bank by a forestry track. In late summer on family walk around Llyn y fan fach in Carms (again not far from Brecks border) I managed to refind some almost pure patches of russowii, which I originally saw over 20years ago. I need to see it in Brecks now, although I never get out to the most likely areas in the north.
ReplyDeleteSphagnum russowii is definitely a specialist's Sphagnum - not something you encounter until you are pretty proficient in Sphagnum ID. Others in this bracket include S. platyphyllum, S. subsecundum and S. warnstorfii (which I still struggle to find). Well done Karen!
ReplyDeleteSuper record Karen
ReplyDelete