If there is one place in south Wales where I really hate mossing it's north-western Carmarthenshire. This is a land of exposed plateaux farmed intensively for dairy, cut by beautiful but inaccessible wooded valleys. The heathland origin of the plateaux is visible in the lane banks, where Hylocomium splendens and Pleurozium schreberi are locally prominent, but with the exception of a handful of rushy pastures it's Rye-grass that rules. The only species that seem to benefit are Starlings and Golden Plover.
Scratching 40 bryophyte species from the plateau of SN12M, east of Efailwen, was pretty tough. Highlights were perhaps Cololejeunea minutissima and Pseudephemerum nitidum. This complimented a list of 26 woodland bryophytes I made in the valley at the southern extremity of the tetrad when I was bashing SN12L last year. Getting into the valleys is always difficult in this area because all the footpaths into them run down 1km long farm drives, then through the middle of a farmyard, and then as often as not stop without trace.
Anyway, another VC44 tetrad bites the dust! Only 102 left to visit.
