Llandogo Ravine

 

The rocky cascades of Cleddon Shoots/Llandogo Ravine near Tintern in the Wye Valley hold a remarkable array of bryophytes, including several that are disjunct from main populations further NW in Wales.  I haven't yet relocated the Platyhypnidium lusitanicum that was recorded there by Warburg in 1954, and it's possible that the water is now too base-rich for it, but most of the other notable species seen by previous generations of BBS members are still present, including Jungermannia paroica, Lejeunea patens, Plagiochila spinulosa, Fissidens rivularis and plenty of Jubula hutchinsiae.  I visited the site on Sunday with Bea & Johnny and photographed some Jubula, as well as taking some habitat shots for a putative VC35 Bryophyte Flora (in prep. in perpetuity?).  A couple of previously unrecorded species caught my eye in passing: a small patch of Plagiothecium latebricola on a huge log was the first VC35 record since 1995 and only the 6th ever, and some Oxystegus tenuirostris adjacent to a cascade was notable (although I've seen it in a couple of other Wye Valley woods).  This is a really special SSSI, and it was useful for me to see the clear link between cascades and the distribution of the Jubula.
 

Glynhir waterfalls

I was hoping to have a bit longer, but only managed to snatch a 30 minute search of the waterfalls before enjoying the PryceEco Christmas dinner  at Glynhir. I focussed on the area immediately downstream of the main waterfall on the Loughor SN64151514 and took a very brief look at the smaller side falls. Species noted of interest included Conocephalum salebrosum, Fissidens bryoides var. caespitans, F. rufulus (photos 6-7, frequent on submerged slabs downstream of large boulder shown in photo 1), Gymnostomum aeruginosum, Heterocladium heteropterum var. flaccidum, Jubula hutchinsiae (~5sqm colony at photos 2 & 3), Palustriella commutata, Rhynchostegiella teneriffae, Trichostomum tenuirostre  and Trichomanes speciosum gemetophyte. A site definitely worthy of a more diligent search.

Nant Cae-dudwg (part 3)

Apologies for the serialised posts from my outing way back on 2nd May - I've been struggling to find time to go through the many samples collected on the day.

This evening I finished off the samples from the stream itself which included Hygroamblystegium fluviatile (fruiting), Trichostomum tenuirostre and Lejeunea lamacerina. Best by far, though, was  a big tuft of Fissidens which turned out to be taxifolius. Why the excitement? Growing among it were a few strands of this:

Jubula hutchinsiae

I believe this is only the 4th county site, and the first in East Glam. It was well concealed among the Fissidens and shows that this distinctive species can easily be missed in the field (at least by me!) when present in small quantity.

The taxa list from the day is now up to 87 (all in one monad) with a few more still to look at...

Cwm Clydach, Kidwelly revisited

It's difficult to capture the atmosphere from photographs, so click HERE and HERE to see short videos of this beautiful narrow gorge.

The rocks along the water line, especially below the waterfalls in the first image, support a good population of Fissidens rivularis, whilst higher up the cliff locally frequent Jubula hutchinsiae, Fissidens osmundoides and Trichomanes speciosum gametophyte were among the highlights.

 The erect capsules, yellowish nerve/leaf border and smaller cells differentiate rivularis from monguillonii.

Jubula hutuchinsiae

Rhynchostegiella teneriffae

Trichomanes speciosum

Waterfall Country - a bryological paradise

The Nedd, Mellte, Hepste and Pyrddin valleys are bryologically outstanding, with oceanic species such as Aphanolejeunea microscopica and Plagiochila exigua reaching their southern British limit, and some scarce woodland species in quite remarkable abundance.  Graham had to formulate a view on likely management impacts in an area of the Dyffrynnoedd Nedd a Mellte SAC that had no previous bryophyte records, and I accompanied him on a visit yesterday so that we could get as full a picture of the locality's richness as possible... and boy was it rich!

Jubula and Jamesoniella were in here

The day started with Bartramia ithyphylla and Pohlia wahlenbergii both with sporophytes on outcrops above the track, then a check of some crags in the river's flood zone produced Distichium capillaceum and fruiting Mnium marginatum, with plentiful Grimmia hartmanii on boulders nearby.  A log by the path held the first Cephalozia catenulata of the day, alongside Nowellia, and these were soon followed by the first Jamesoniella autumnalis on a log in a ravine.  A side-valley of the main river held an incredible abundance of both Jamesoniella (on logs and rocks) and Anastrophyllum hellerianum (on humid oak trunks), as well as the 3rd known colony of Jubula hutchinsiae in the SAC.  I suggested that the rocks looked suitable for Tetrodontium brownianum, and sure enough some overhangs in a ravine were bristling with this species.  Highlight of the day came as we made our way back south along the foot of a sunny crag: peardrop-scented Frullania fragilifolia, new for the SAC and the hectad, with Plagichila bifaria at its 2nd SAC locality nearby.  The day was thoroughly worthwhile because we can now work out exactly how to carry out management that will benefit the woodland and its outstanding bryophyte flora.

Photos of most of those highlights follow: only the Anastrophyllum and Plagiochila escaped my camera.


Bartramia ithyphylla

teeny tiny Cephalozia catenulata

a cushion of Distichium capillaceum

Frullania fragilifolia (peardrop scent unfortunately not apparent from this photo)

Grimmia hartmanii with typically falcate leaves

Male Jamesoniella autumnalis on a log

Brackets of Jubula hutchinsiae in a ravine

fruiting Mnium marginatum

fruiting Pohlia wahlenbergii (not something I see fruiting very often at all)

Tetrodontium brownianum growing vertically downwards

Aberdulais

A site visit to a small residential development just above Aberdulais today took the tetrad total for SN70Q from 65 to 105. The development footprint comprised cleared land where some garages used to be, but the ownership included woodland that extended down to the river. Fortunately the owner is very wildlife-friendly and is keen to improve the woodland, which has plenty of Rhododendron, Impatiens and Fallopia targeted for eradication. Unsurprisingly the immediate riverbank was the most interesting part of the site and included a nice drippy cliff to boot.

Amphidium mougeotii on upper coal measures
shale and sandstone sequence

The highlight was another new site for Jubula hutchinsiae, though this time, just a small 10cm x 5cm patch amongst mossy rocks ~30cm above winter water line at SN77380019. Other species of note included Amphidium mougeotii, Fissidens osmundoides, Gymnostomum aeruginosum, Heterocladium heteropterum var. heteropterum, Jungermannia atrovirens plus another Jungermannia non-fruiting species, Marsupella emarginata var. emarginata & Saccogyna viticulosa.

Jubula location just below lower corner of notebook

Garnswllt

Hopefully today's efforts will have taken both SN60E and SN60J comfortably over the 60 species mark, but I still have quite a bit of material to look at from this site before entering the data. The main highlight was the discovery of a huge colony of Jubula hutchinsiae which extended downstream from the waterfall at SN61960856, where there was a 3m high x 8m wide wall of loose and dripping rock covered in the stuff, but it was also frequent to at least 60m downstream, at which point I headed away from the stream. Saccogyna viticulosa was abundant on a large, nearby rock face that was drier and Thamnobryum alopecurum was noted fruiting freely in patches.

I also managed to have a quick look at the riverbank of the Loughor and found some non-fruiting Orthotrichum which fits rivulare based on cell size. It was growing only 0.5m above the water level on a few small Salix trunks along with Leskea polycarpa fruiting O. diaphanum and a little blackened O. affine. Given it was not in fruit, any thoughts on this welcome [There is some fruiting material in one of my samples so happy with this now].

On the vascular plant front, this 50m hedge was stuffed full of Ruscus. The owner said it had been there for the 37 years he'd lived there, so probably introduced with the Holly as hedging well before this.

Glynneath Bryophytes

Photograph of the Jubula site below. The waterfall (just a trickle really) sits in a little amphitheatre and access is easy from the old trackway, but it is quite wet and muddy. Nowelia curvifolia grows on decorticated logs to the left (not in photo). There's a lot of Jubula there and also abundant Pellia endiviifolia and Hyocomium armoricum and other stuff. Also a small amount of Galium odoratum, which is also scarce in NPT. The Jubula grows on and around the black, coal-like rock face.

Jubula hutchinsiae site, Glynneath

The right arm of the amphitheatre is clothed in Blechnum spicant and Luzula sylvatica with thick mats of Diplophyllum albicans. 

In addition to conspicuous species mentioned in the last post, Lejeunea lamacerina is plentiful on the vertical sandstone embankment along the trackway and Odontoschisma denudataum grows on rotting logs in nearby Cwm Rhy-y-gau. The steep woodland above and below the trackway is a fine example of an ancient Wych Elm-Hazel woodland with local stands of Small-leaved Lime. The River Neath here has an interesting population of the freshwater red alga, Lemanea fluviatilis as well as the usual riparian bryos.

Jubula hutchinsiae in Glamorgan

Between Glyn Neath and Pont Walby, at the head of the Neath Valley, there is a fabulous trackway which was the course of an old railway line. It is has huge vertical embankments plastered in bryophytes and is dissected by little valleys with Tilia cordata and (native) Acer campestre (both rare in NPT). At SN8865/0630 there is a waterfall which has quite a bit of Jubula hutchinsiae on its rock face.

Jubula hutchinsiae, Glyn Neath (28/10/14)

 This beautiful, grey-green liverwort is unmistakable with its spiny leaves and distinctive underside.

Underside of Jubula hutchinsiae showing helmet-shaped ventral lobes

The small, helmet-shaped ventral lobes are reminiscent of Frullania, but the spiny, holly-like leaves are characteristic and give it its common name, Hutchins' Hollywort.

I have never seen this species in Glamorgan before. However, there is a vague record in the Mapmate database which refers to a record from the Blaen Nedd and Mellte SSSI (SN8908), which originated from a CCW database (1975-1996). The same database entry holds records of Jamesoniella autumnalis and Fissidens rivularis. The grid reference suggests a monad in Glamorgan but I think the actual site for these record is Nant-y-celin (near Craig y Dinas) where J. hutchinsiae has been known since the 1970s and which is in Brecs.

Jubula hutchinsiae is a Southern Atlantic species with a very western distribution in Britain. It is rather scarce in South Wales.