Blaen Pig iron spring

Johnny and I went hunting for fossils today (as you do... he's only in Kindergarten four days a week, and Clare was working in Devon so I took the day off).  I wanted to try somewhere in VC35, so I could keep an eye out for bryophytes, and as my home patch is fossil-free Old Red Sandstone I headed west towards the Coal Measures at Blaen Pig (N of Gilwern Hill).  This is a vast area of spoil, some of which is very old whilst other areas are much more recent.  I have searched it 5 times over the last 16 years, but there are still many bits that haven't been checked bryologically.

I have seen small, dense Dichodontium on the coal tips a few times before, as well as on ledges on upland limestone in Carms & Brecs, and I think that Charles has reported similar plants from NPT.  It seems to match the old "var. fagimontanum", and looks much more distinctive than the ever-intergrading pellucidum and flavescens.  There were several patches on damp, slightly basic coal spoil near the foot of the tips.

After a while we came across a spring, where extremely iron-rich water bubbles out from below a tip (but perhaps associated with a natural break of slope).  This held Potamogeton polygonifolius, Eriophorum angustifolium and other common flush species (but no Pinguicula that I could see), plus Campylium stellatum var stellatum new for the tetrad (the mega-rich SO21K) and several common sphagna.  For a while, the highlight was potential Sphagnum teres, but I have reluctantly concluded it's just one of the peculiar brownish, scarcely squarrose forms of Sphagnum squarrosum that one occasionally encounters.

Johnny enjoyed the iron spring, and also a few small fern fossils

Dulais Valley at Coynant

A rain-soaked walk through flushed pasture at SN650069 yesterday returned a modest selection of species of local interest including Aneura pinguis, Aulacomnium palustre, Brachythecium rivulare, Bryum pseudotriquetrum, Philonotis fontana, Riccardia chamedryfolia, Sarmentypnum exannulatum, Scapania irrigua, S. undulata, Sphagnum denticulatum, inundatum, squarrosum, subnitens (photo below) & Straminergon stramineum.

Deep mounds of Nardia compressa (photo above) were abundant in the adjacent river and species of interest along the banks included Dichodontium palustre (photo above), Dicranella rufescens, Ditrichum heteromallum (photo above) & Entosthodon obtusus (photos below).

Note the bordered leaf margins, which rules out all other Entosthodon species with erect capsules.

Dichodontium query

Last week I came across a Dichodontium growing on bankside reinforcements (stone and mortar) in the flood zone of the River Taff at Radyr. I assume this is most likely pellucidum but wasn't entirely confident I could rule out flavescens. The leaves are around 4 times as long as wide, which according to Smith is right on the boundary between the limits of each species. No sporophytes unfortunately. Any thoughts? Sorry my photos aren't as good as Charles's!