Rhossili Down

Tortula wilsonii (tbc) was the highlight of a wander around the n.w. section of Rhossili Down yesterday. It was growing as a few discrete, but dense patches totaling c.3 sqcm on soil ledges on a Brownstones Formation outcrop, Gower's oldest (Silurian) rocks SS41729038. Immediate soil associates included Sedum anglicum, Thymus polytrichus, Hypnum cupressiforme var. resupinatum, Trichostomum brachydontium, Pseudephemerum nitidum, Ceratodon purpureum, Cladonia sp. & Lepraria sp.

The same ledges held a few patches of Campylopus fragilis, at what is only the second site for Glamorgan.

Another Glamorgan first was Philonotis arnellii (tbc), which occurred as thinly scattered shoots on the steep mossy bank below Gorse and Bramble scrub, adjacent to the footpath at the base of the hill SS41649051. This is the site where I previously found Fissidens curvatus, which I failed to refind yesterday. Associates included Fissidens bryoides, Amblystegium serpens, Mnium hornum, Kindbergia praelonga, Richardia chamaedryfolia, Lophocolea bidentata & Weissia perssonii.

A small outcrop at the same location held Pterogonium gracile with Riccia subbifurca on the overlying thin soil crust. Anther colony of the Riccia was found higher up the hill on an ant hill.

All in all, it was a good afternoon, with a bonus ring Ouzel to boot (though not the views enjoyed by Charles & Hilary and Cwm Ivy the week before). The walk off the hill, following the stream below three spring heads, which held Sphagnum denticulatum & subnitens, plus Bryum alpinum & Sarmentypnum exannulatum, added some useful tetrad records that included Hookeria lucens, Plagiothecium denticulatum, Scpania undulata, Pellia neesiana, Campylium stellatum & Oxyrrhynchium speciosum.

Miscellaneous December mosses (and liverworts!)

Here are a few images of some interesting observations I've not found time to post about over the last few weeks of 2018:

A rubbishy record shot of Campylopus subulatus collected from a forest track at Gwaun Nant-y-bwch during an excursion with Charles on 11th Dec. This is just the third Glamorgan site.

Lopidium concinnum (Hypopterygiaceae) was the most conspicuous of four aliens noted on a Dicksonia antarctica 'trunk' in Swansea's Wyevale on 20th December. Heteroscyphus fissistipus was the only other species I managed to identify. All were recorded as live, although the exposed parts of the Lopidium shoots were dead/bleached.

On the same day I was at Wyevale, I did a quick check of the Kilvey Hill Cephaloziella calyculata colony, but failed to find anything resembling integerrima, the only only other Cephaloziella noted being divaricata. The colony was highly fertile, with male plants (photo) and gemmiferous shoots abundant (photo). Perianth development was, however, uniformly at a very rudimentary stage and well behind those of integerrima seen recently at Crofty. There are still plenty opportunities for exploring unsurveyed areas at this site - i.e. most of it!

The distinctively scented Lophozia bicrenata was found growing with Vezdaea retigera on mine spoil on Cadle Heath Common in Swansea on 21st Dec.

Lophozia ventricosa var. silvicola is occasional on Sphagnum papillosum on Cefn Bryn, 31st Dec. As reported by Sam in the Pembs Bryoflora, it seems this defunct, yet distinctive taxon is the default var. on Sphagnum in our area.

A good quantity of Marchantia polymorpha cf subsp. montivagans "Mountain Liverwort" was encountered mostly 'in stream' in a base-enriched runnel on Cefn Bryn, also on 31st Dec. The large thalli clearly lacked black midribs that characterise subsp. polymorpha, though were darkened a little, as shown by the example below, photographed in natural day light (it was almost dark by the time I got to this spot and to make things worst as I was walking back up the hill I realised I must have dropped my phone in the runnel - fortunately I did manage to find it before the light completely went, sitting amongst Montia in-stream, half soaked, but still working!). I failed to get to grips with the ventral scales of the Marchantia, but I will take another look before sending off a voucher for verification of this potential county first.

Campylopus subulatus

While going through some of the NPT forest road records in MapMate I noticed that there was a record of Campylopus fragilis for Nant y Cafn  attributed to H and me. After checking my vouchers I found a packet labelled 'Campylopus fragilis or Campylopus subulatus in calcareous grassy verge near forest track, Nany Cafn (23/4/17)'. Clearly I hadn't nailed this. So we went up to the site yesterday to collect some fresh specimens. The photo below (taken last April) shows the plants in situ. There is a very large population in the vicinity of SN81610756 which is very conspicuous and although on close inspection it is obviously a Campylopus, the colony has a bright yellowish-green colour which looks a bit like Ditrichum gracile from distance.

The plants are rather short-leaved and there is no tomentum. Deciduous shoot tips are abundant all over the colony.

The leaves have no auricles to speak of, there is a wide costa (at least 70% of leaf width at base) and the thin-walled basal cells are linear/rectangular. The alar cells are larger but not differentiated greatly fro the basal cells and not thick-walled and pigmented like those of Campylopus flexuosus.

A section of the costa shows the large adaxial cells which occupy about 35- 40% of costa thickness and the absence of stereid cells. The leaf tip has a few distinctive teeth.

 So, it looks like Campylopus subulatus, which is a nice record for NPT. However,  I see that Sam and Graham recorded it in the Nedd Fechan Valley a few years ago, so it is not new for VC41. Sam has also recorded it in Brechfa, although I'm not sure whether that is a forest road record.  I think it's worth keeping an eye open for this species which may be under recorded. The copious production of deciduous shoot tips suggests that it could spread easily along suitable forest tracks.
I'll amend the record in Map Mate.

After the Rhodies have 'gone'

Following the clearance of blanketing thickets of Rhododendron in parts of Cwmdulais a few years back, I have made a few casual records of what has been recolonising. The only lower plants (which currently provide the bulk of the ground cover) noted in a small sampling area during a casual Christmas Eve stroll, were (in decreasing levels of abundance) Campylopus introflexus, Cladonia chlorophaea agg., Dicranella heteromalla, Hypnum cupressiforme var. cupressiforme, Polytrichum juniperinum, Cladonia coniocraea and Dicranum scoparium. Clearly there is more diversity than this in the valley (see my previous post HERE on this subject), but to date recolonisation of cleared Rhododendron in the valley has been by a rather limited suite of species. Needless to say the Rhododendron is showing good signs of recovery!

A small, mildly basic flush at SN61730358 did provide a point of interest amongst this predominantly acid tolerant vegetation, with species noted (again in decreasing levels of abundance) including Dicranella varia, Riccardia chamedryfolia, Aneura pinguis, Cratoneuron filicinum, Didymodon fallax, Philonotis Fontana, Didymodon tophaceus, Didymodon insulanus, Pellia endiviifolia, Pohlia wahlenbergii var. wahlenbergii, Bryum pseudotriquetrum & Pseudocrossidium hornschuchianum. I'm not sure if this vegetation comprises recent colonists or was hiding beneath the Rhodendrons prior to clearance?

Coal spoil at Penygroes

A total of 60 bryos were recorded growing directly on coal spoil at this development site in Penygroes, vc44. Most interest was focused on the mildly basic 'Cratoneuron filicinum-Bryum pseudotriquetrum' seepages found around the margins of the site, with noteworthy species including Bryoerythrophyllum ferruginascens and Palustriella falcata. Both were rare on site and it's the first time that I have encountered the latter on spoil, the location of the only patch I saw shown below. 

The central plateau was much less interesting, being dominated by Campylopus introflexus and Lotus corniculatus, which together with locally frequent Cladonia spp. formed a distinctive coal spoil community.

Upper reaches of the Afon Tywi

The rocky upper reaches of Afon Tywi, north of Lynn Brianne, couldn't be more different from the lowland, meandering section of the river with which I'm familiar from winter Brown Hairstreak egg surveys.

 

A couple of weekends ago we stayed a night at Dolgoch Hostel in Ceredigion, just a field away from the Tywi (which here forms the boundary between VC46 and VC42). Sam had provided me with a list of rare bryos to look out for, and though I failed to find any of these there was still plenty of interest - for me at least. Most notable, perhaps, was the abundance of Atrichum crispum, here growing on the thin soil layer on top of large river boulders.

I was also impressed by the quantity of Andraea rothii ssp falcata on the in-channel rocks, sometimes growing not far above the water level. A small patch of the lichen Lasallia pustulata (please correct my ID if wrong!) was growing in the same habitat.

The river itself was full of great wefts of Fontinalis squamosa, and Oligotrichum hercynicum was frequent on steep gravelly banks.

I'm a little puzzled by this falcate Campylopus, which had the nerve filling about a third of the leaf base. It might just be C. flexuosus, but is almost lacking in tomentum and doesn't have any obvious coloured cells in the basal angles of the leaf.

Sam tells me this part of the Tywi has been little studied bryologically. It surely warrants a proper look.

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.

 

Tremadog rocks

An evening walk after bog surveying near Porthmadog finally gave me the chance to explore the amazing cliffs and hanging woodlands above Tremadog.  I only scratched the surface of this extensive area, and I'm sure there's plenty more to be found.  Most of the time I was up on the open, sunny clifftop rocks, where Campylopus pilifer and Hedwigia integrifolia were surprisingly common.  The former grows in dense cushions in rock crevices and its thick shoots are reassuringly different to the common C. introflexus, whilst the latter sprawls on sunny rocks and its lack of hairpoints is immediately different to H. stellata.

One area held extensive patches of a sprawling Racomitrium with very short hairpoints.  This was growing close to typical, hoary R. heterostichum and looked incredibly different, yet they are treated as a single species in the Census Catalogue!  Also nearby was muticous (pointless) R. obtusum, which is again treated as part of R. heterostichum in Britain.  The short-pointed, narrow-leaved plant is Racomitrium obtusifolium f. trichophorum, which I discussed in The Mosses and Liverworts of Pembrokeshire.  I have now found it in several places on coastal tors in Wales, from Pembrokeshire to Harlech and Tremadog, but never inland.  There seems to be a pattern developing in records of this distinctive-looking moss...

A scramble down into the upper part of the woodland above the Hospital revealed abundant Frullania fragilifolia and Plagiochila bifaria as well as some Marchesinia mackaii.  A large lichen on a boulder may well be the uncommon Cetrelia olivetorum, which may well be new for the site (already known to hold a good example of The Lobarion).  There are still vast explored and potentially bryophyte-rich habitat in the Tremadog area, as well as past generations' rarities to be rediscovered (some localities were kept secret and subsequently slipped out of bryologists' knowledge).  Oh to return!