Port Eynon Point

A Fossombronia, which was widely distributed along the heavily trodden grass walkway on Port Eynon Point headland, under the microscope proved to be incurva and not the expected husnotii. This is only the third record for vc41.

Crofty update

male Fossombronia incurva

I spent about an hour on Christmas Eve exploring the abandoned Crofty building plot and recorded Cephaloziella integerrima on a total 12 of the post hole tumps, a few small patches on some of the adjacent banks, plus some reasonable patches on the abandoned footings themselves. The list of direct associates (i.e species within 10cm) below included Fossombronia incurva, this being just the second county record.

female plants of Fossombronia incurva with Ephemerum minutissimum

Direct associates of Cephaloziella integerrima:

Achillea millefolium

Agrostis capillaris

Aira praecox

Anthoxanthum odoratum

Archidium alternifolium

Bellis perennis

Brachytheciastrum velutinum

Brachythecium mildeanum
Bryoerythrophyllum ferruginascens

Bryum dichotomum

Bryum pallens

Calliergonella cuspidata

Carex flacca

Centaurium erythraea

Cephaloziella divaricata

Ceratodon purpureus

Cladonia fimbriata
Cladonia furcata

Cladonia humilis

Cladonia rangiformis

Cynosurus cristatus

Dactylis glomerata

Dicranella rufescens

Didymodon fallax

Didymodon insulanus

Ephemerum minutissimum

Ephemerum serratum

Festuca ovina

Fossombronia incurva

Holcus lanatus

Hypnum cupressiforme var. lacunosum

Hypochaeris radicata

Leontodon saxatilis

Lotus corniculatus

Luzula campestris

Odontites vernus

Oxyrrhynchium hians

Pilosella officinarum

Plantago coronopus

Pleuridium subulatum
Plantago lanceolata

Prunella vulgaris

Pseudoscleropodium purum

Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus

Tortula truncata

Trifolium dubium

Trifolium repens

Vicia sativa subsp. segetalis

Viola riviniana

Weissia controversa var. controversa

Cyprus samples

Couldn't resist bringing back a few holiday bryos last month, a good selection of British species which I managed to identify, including:

Lots of Sphaerocarpos michelii, Aloina ambigua plus and odd glaucous bobbly thing at Kolossi Castle, which if any one has a suggestion I'd be interested to hear?

Southbya nigrella, Fossombronia caespitiformis & Microbryum davallianum (Avakas Gorge). The flora was stunning, but the bryophytes were an unexpected bonus.

Glais horse pasture

A few indistinct (primarily acid) flush lines through this tightly grazed pasture provided some local interest, with species noted including Anagallis tenella, Dicranella rufescens, Entosthodon obtusus, Ephemerum serratum, Fossombronia wondraczekii, Pellia neesiana, Pohlia camptotrachela, Scapania irrigua & Wahlenbergia hederacea.

 P. camptotrachela & F. wondraczekii, with a little P. nitidum & E. serratum

 P. camptotrachela

 E. serratum

Sea Frillwort on Skomer

During our annual pilgrimage to Skomer last Saturday, I didn't do any bryophyte recording, or much else for that matter, as it was nice just to relax enjoy the island ambience. However, I did get on my knees to have a quick scan of the Fossombronia in the farmhouse courtyard in the hope of finding capsules in the extreme drought conditions - as expected, this proved to be 'fruitless' exercise. But I did have success elsewhere, in fact, not too far from the farmhouse, along the edge of the path that heads out towards the Wick, where it passes over one of the Mugearite outcrops, there was a nice Fossombronia colony with plenty of dried up, but seemingly intact capsules. Examination of spore and stem anatomy last night provided confirmation of F. maritima as a Skomer species.

barren courtyard Foss.

fertile footpath Foss. with Archidium

I never photographed the location, but as I didn't get
on my knees too often I'm pretty sure this was the spot.
In any case my ref for the colony was SM7268409272

The main direct associates here included Archidium alternifolium, Campylopus introflexus, Erodium maritimum, Lophocolea semiteres, Plantago coronopus and Sagina subulata.

Delayed Fossombronia

I noticed a few bryophytes colonising the edge of a newly created pond at Graig farm near Llandovery in early December.  Everything was a bit mashed up by trampling sheep so I put some of the greening mud into a pot and then dried it to check later. I finally got round to looking at it today and on rehydration I was very pleased to find the battered remains of a Fossombronia.  Seems to be F.wondraczeckii, which is a new one for me.  Apparently several more ponds have been formed there since my December visit so there will be lots more mud to look at in future visits.  Hopefully I won't leave the specimens so long before checking them next time.

Bits and pieces

On Friday I spent a couple of hours tying up some loose ends. First port of call was the Ty-du arable field (ST103800), where Sam and Julian found immature Phaeoceros thalli in late September. These had matured in the intervening weeks; strangely, all those I found (and there were lots of them) were male, indicating they were the dioecious species P. laevis (photo below left). As in September, Anthoceros thalli were also in evidence (photo below right) and I managed to find some male organs to confirm them as A. agrestis (though I think Sam had already done this).

I was surprised by the abundance of Fossombronia, a genus I've not seen in other arable fields locally.  The sporophytes were immature but after a few days ripening at home I was able to extract spores enabling identification as F. pusilla.

Next stop was the roadside limestone outcrops in Pentyrch, with my hopes high after Barry's recent find of Weissia sterilis in Julian's nearby garden. Although 16 calcicoles were recorded there was no Weissia among them. The best record was probably Brachythecium glareosum.

Finally, 45 minutes were spent in Efail Isaf making a start on ST08X. Among the 36 species recorded were Pleuridium subulatum and Fossombronia pusilla on soil in the village allotments.

An enjoyable two hours despite the hail showers!

Afan Forest Park

The larch felling program of the last few years has resulted in a proliferation of new tracks in the Park, where heavy vehicle tires have created habitats for all sorts of earth mosses and liverworts. Dicranella varia is probably one of the most important pioneers in this habitat, but others include infuriating little Bryum spp., Achidium alternifolium, Dicranella schreberiana, Trichodon cylindricus, Pohlia annotina, Pohlia wahlenbergii, Pseudephemerum nitidum, Fossombronia spp. and Riccia subbifurca (now recorded from two separate forest tetrads).

Pseudephemerum nitidum, Afan Forest Park

Fossombronia wondraczeckii, Afan Forest Park

Fossombronia wondraczeckii spores

Riccia subbifurca, Afan Forest Park

Fossombronia pusilla and a few more bryophilous fungi

We've been paying a bit more attention to fungi than bryophytes so far this autumn, but this weekend we happened upon a small group of fruiting Fossombronia pusilla on a forest track growing with  Dicranella varia and Trichodon cylindrica. George has already posted a nice photo of pusilla's characteristic spores, so I've not duplicated that here.

Fossombronia pusilla, Pelenna Forest track

 Photos below show a few of the common bryophilous species that we've seen already this autumn. Galerina is a genus of about 50, small brown spored species in Britain, most of which are associated with bryophytes but are difficult to identify in the field. However, Galerina vittiformis and G. sphagnicola are fairly distinct.

Galerina vittiformis with Dicranum scoparium. Note deeply sulcate cap.

Galerina sphagnorum in marshy grassland. Habitat and mottled stem are good indicators

Arrhenia is a small genus of species that grow in grassland and heathland usually associated with bryophytes. Some occur on sand dunes, notably A. spathulata, which is fairly common on Kenfig Dunes. Arrhenia griseopallida is a widespread species of dry, mossy grassland and lawns.

Arrhenia griseopallida.  Note funnel shaped cap.

Rickenella fibula is one of the most common bryophilous species in Britain. It has a tiny yellowish fruiting body which often grows among woodland floor bryophytes - it looks a little like a very small Bonnet (Mycena species).

Rickenella fibula

Skomer

A day trip to the island with friends yesterday provided a few opportunities to look at bryophytes when not taken in by the spectacular display of Bluebells and the captivating Puffins.

Homage was paid to the Porella obtusata, which was still doing well on The Farmhouse walls, plus a close look at the heavily trampled ground in the enclosure proved to be interesting; a withering Fossombronia was frequent on patches of bare ground, the very thick tubers and purple rhizoids hinting at maritima - only unconfirmed material is mentioned for Skomer in Sam's Pembs Bryoflora, so still awaiting confirmation. Other species noted in the very short, broken sward included Barbula convoluta, Erodium maritimum, Scleropodium touretii, Riccia sorocarpa, Pseudocrossidium hornschuchianum and perhaps most significant a little Lophocolea semiteres, again very withered, but unmistakable, despite this being a new species for me.

Above: Left - Caught in the act!  Right - Fossombronia sp.
Below: Left - Fossombronia sp.  Right - Lophocolea semiteres   

Lophocolea semiteres was noted in much greater abundance on what looked like a large area of formerly disturbed ground west of The Wick and was occasional in damp ground east of North Pond and seems well-established on the island. I noticed a lot of moss growing in the entrances of shearwater burrows. I grabbed a few samples from safe locations but all I found was frequent Dicranella heteromalla and a little Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus. 28 species were noted in total, but an out of season search is obviously essential for 'off path' exploration of this amazing island.

Area west of The Wick with abundant L. semiteres.

Lophocolea semiteres

Lophocolea semiteres

Slade cliff seawatch

I treated myself to a seawatch at Port Eynon at first light on Sunday morning, but it was so drizzly when I arrived, that visibility did not extend beyond the surf. So a backup plan to add a few more records to SS48X was put in place and in the relative shelter of Slade Valley I managed to add a few species of interest; these included a mound of Weissia controversa var. densifolia growing under the hinge of a galvanized gate and some good patches of Plasteurhynchium striatulum growing on an outcrop under the coastal scrub. After 30 minutes the rain started to ease so I took my scope onto the cliff, but with little passing I soon became distracted by the bryophytes growing around me. I spent 30 blustery minutes with a hand lens adding some good species to the square, the best of which were Fossombronia caespitiformis (=husnotii) [photos above] which was frequent but scattered over many square metres, a little Bryum kunzei (=funkii), occasional Microbryum starckeanum and even smaller, what I'm pretty sure what is a new species for me, Cephaloziella calyculata [photos below]. There is a however, however, as the material was non-fruiting. The key in Paton took me quickly to calyculata/integerrima but the angular pale green gemmae and habitat seem to be the only distinctions between the two when non-fertile; integerrima usually displays red pigments and is not typically associated with Limestone. Perhaps Sam can let me know if this is a safe id? Like the Fossombronia, plants were scattered across a good area, so potentially quite a significant population if confirmed. I'm not sure what species the Cephaloziella is in the photos above (rather sparse oval gemmae present on a few shoots and underleaves frequent so possibly divaricata), but I initially thought the plants below might have been Lophozia excisa until closer inspection revealed pale green gemmae.