One good 'don deserves another

I was back in the Ewenny area today and like Sam spent my lunchbreak doing some recording. In the Entodon post I mentioned a limestone crag on Old Castle Down which was crying out for a closer inspection, and this occupied my entire lunchbreak.

The crag is west facing and sits on the shoulder of the down at SS898759. Working south I'd found little of interest by the half way point, but then close together were two smallish patches of Entosthodon pulchellus on soil-capped ledges (posed for this photo on garden soil at home...I took a sample as I wasn't sure of the species in the field). Associates included Trichostomum brachydontium and Fissidens incurvus.

There was nothing else of particular note, but small amounts of Pleurochaete squarrosa, Plagiomnium affine and Eurhynchium striatulum are perhaps worth mentioning.

I've downloaded some more photos from the cheapo work camera - not the best but gives an impression of habitat and microsite. If the latter is blown up there are at least three fruiting plants (red circles) and what looks like quite a few non-fruiting plants among the Trichostomum brachydontium cushions.

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.

More Entosthodon

 I was in Mewslade Valley yesterday and noted a 50cm x 20cm patch of E. fascicularis with over 400 densely packed capsules (see photos above - patch on half-covered rock in foreground). I've looked at a few leaves and most have 2 or 3 cells between the costa and the leaf tip, so clearly not of the mouretii type.

I also had a look at the adjacent retaining wall (photos below) and discovered a new colony of E. pulchellus, with numerous small patches scattered along a 100m section of the wall. I counted over 200 capsules, but there were hundreds of non-fruiting plants too. This is possibly the most extensive colony I've personally come across.

One of Britain's least convincing mosses

In 2012 I published a note in Journal of Bryology reporting Entosthodon mouretii as new for Britain, based on 7 records from the southern half of the country.  I initially tried to reduce mouretii to variety status, but one of the journal referees insisted that I could not do that without studying the Type (in Paris), many southern European specimens etc.  I wanted to reduce it to variety status because so many of the British specimens were markedly intermediate, with no obvious discontinuity in the key character states of costa length, leaf acuminateness, and marginal tooth sharpness.  The 7 British records had convincingly excurrent costae, but others had the costa ending 1-5 cells below the apex.

Today I found a substantial fruiting population of E. fascicularis on a roadside bank in Cross Hands Industrial Estate.  Most of its leaves had very long costae, ranging from excurrent by 1 cell to finishing 2 cells below the apex.  It isn't quite extreme enough to be E. mouretii, but it certainly isn't classic short-nerved E. fascicularis.  I am ever more unconvinced at the validity of this taxon as a species, but don't have the time or inclination to shoot it down globally.

Paviland Lejeunea query

I'm assuming this is just poorly grown lamacerina, but there appears to be a hint of mandonii about it. My first attempt at sectioning the stem failed, but I'll give it another go. It was found growing in tightly grazed turf, semi-shaded (n-facing) in the lee of a rocky Limestone outcrop on the cliffs at Paviland yesterday. The widest shoots are 0.8mm wide, which is probably just a bit too much for mandonii, but the leaf shape seems good on some shoots, so thought it was worth posting for an opinion.

Also a new colony of Entosthodon pulchellus at the head of the gulley at Foxhole.

North Gower wall

This wall in Landimore (SS46519321) supported an incredible abundance of Reboulia hemisphaerica along with the only colony of Entosthodon pulchellus I’ve come across away from the south Gower cliffs. This appears to be the only wall in the village that has not been repointed, so I am considering contacting the landowner to let them know how special it is?

a profusion of Reboulia hemisphaerica all along the wall

38 fruiting plants of Entosthodon pulchellus 
were counted during casual observations