Odd Lophocolea in Monmouth

I stopped briefly in Monmouth this morning to check some roadside fungi (just a Tricholoma sp.) I had noticed, and then grabbed a bit of the Lophocolea growing below the fungus. It looked consistently small and I had hopes of L. bispinosa, but a check with the lens revealed that many leaves were 3- or even 4-dentate. I brought a bit home, and the microscope revealed the plants were abundantly male but that the 3-/4-dentate leaves continued a good distance up the stem from any obvious male bracts. The non-decurrent insertion line ruled out L. bispinosa, whilst the overall appearance and strong smell excluded L. brookwoodiana.  I have concluded it's just an odd form of L. bidentata, but have kept the specimen just in case.

More Lophocolea semiteres in VC41

Because we've been concentrating mostly on fungi this autumn, most of our bryophyte recording has been rather incidental. Some of the most interesting records recently include a very large colony of Lophocolea semiteres in a Pine/Spruce forest in Ton Mawr (SS79589751) growing on needle beds and on fallen trunks with Hypnum jutlandicum and Lophocolea bidentata. While it is, perhaps, an unwelcome species in general, it is an interesting addition to the conifer plantation flora of Glamorgan.

Lophocolea semiteres, Ton Mawr

The Ton Mawr Sitka Spruce forest also has a small population of Leucobryum juniperoideum (which I've posted on before) and we saw more of this under Sitka in Glyncorrwg last week. There are now at least 4 records of this species associated with Sitka Spruce forests in Glamorgan.
re: Comments - See photo of Maes Gwyn Larch plantation habitat below.

Lophocolea semiteres habitat, Maes Gwyn Larch plantation

While foraying near the Red Jacket Iron Works site (near Jersey Marine) we noted a significant population of Riccia subbifurca growing with Fossombronia (not yet in fruit) and large amounts of what looks like Cephaloziella rubella (stilling working on it!). Lots of attractive Calliergonella lindbergii and Climacium dendroides here too and there is a large selection of grassland and birch/willow scrub fungi, such as Blue-edge Pinkgill (Entoloma serrulatum).

Track with Riccia subbifurca and Fossombronia, Red Jacket

Entoloma serrulatum, Red Jacket

Cwm Colliery

Yesterday afternoon Karen Wilkinson and I spent a few hours looking at the bryophytes of Cwm Colliery, near Beddau. It's a big place and we only really scratched the surface, but we managed to add quite a few species for the under-recorded tetrads ST08S and ST08T.

Liam Olds has done a lot of invert surveys at this site, and had mentioned the presence of tufaceous springs - something I'd not seen on colliery spoil. We looked at a couple of these on the western side of the tip - they certainly look odd but we failed to find any unusual bryophyte species: only Didymodon tophaceus, Aneura pinguis, Cratoneuron filicinum and Bryum pseudotriquetrum were recorded on the tufa.

 

Elsewhere, we found a couple of patches of what looks like it might be Lophocolea semiteres growing on spoil under young birch - photos below. I'm not absolutely sure it's not L. heterophylla - some of the leaf tips are retuse but most are entire, and none are very notched. Photos below.

Most of the spoil was fairly species-poor but we did find small patches of Calliergonella lindbergii (photo below), Archidium alternifolium, Campyliadelphus chrysophyllus and Weissia brachycarpa var obliqua. The young willow and birch woodland was quite rich, with Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus and a good range of epiphytes.

There are large areas in the north and east of the site left to explore, so further visits are needed.

Selar square-bash

SN80W & SN80X needed a few extra records to get them over the 60 mark, so I took an afternoon stroll, wrongly thinking the frost would have largely gone. Unfortunately, the ground and vegetation was still solid, but I eventually managed to push up the totals to 81 and 103 respectively. Although hampered by the frost, the spoil bryos appeared to be pretty limited in the edge area I looked at, Lophocolea bispinosa the only thing of any note. The remnant broad-leaved woodland along the Nant Selar was quite ordinary, though the main water course looked/sounded quite promising from the path above. I haven't ventured into coniferous woodland too often in recent years, so it was nice to experience the luxuriance of the Larch plantations again.

L. bispinosa on spoil

 Sitka vs Larch field layers

 Lots of P. undulatum under Larch

There were a few small falls on the Nant Selar, 

the walls below mostly dominated by Saccogyna viticulosa

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

Lophocolea bispinosa in RCT

Lophocolea bispinosa, forestry road verge RCT

Lophocolea bispinosa (as above)

Quite a bit of this along a forestry track (SS 9226/9739) in RCT, where there is still significant snow in places. Not new for VC41 (earlier records by Sam and Barry), but new for RCT and a new hectad record (SS99) - I think! Well known to most of you no doubt, but it's a new species for me. In the vicinity, a small colony of Lycopodium clavatum was also spotted by 'my companion'. Willows along the road had the usual common epiphytes, including Colura. Yesterday's recording brings the tetrad (SS99I) to approx. 50 bryophyte spp., but there's more to find I'm sure  Also recorded in this tetrad (but not by us) - Cryptogramma cispa, Dryopteris oreades and Hymenophyllum wilsonii, so it's got some nice stuff.

Today in the Afan Valley Loeskeobryum brevirostre (4th record for NPT) and Didymodon sinuosus were added to the Country Park (Afan Argoed) species list. 

Lophocolea fragrans in Glamorgan

Thought I'd slip in a pic of my only record of this species, which I found last December growing on a fallen branch by a stream in Cilibion Plantation (SS529918). It's a rather diminutive Lophocolea but the irregular multi-toothed appearance is pretty distinctive. There are no other records on MapMate but the NBN shows a 2002 record for SN70, which may or may not be in Glamorgan? Be interesting to find out more details of this or any other Glam records?

General habitat shot, L. fragrans site was just off to the right 

Doing 'my' bit {of SN60}

The blog has done its thing: I'm feeling reinvigorated to go mossing!  I headed out today to 'my' bit of SN60 so as to compliment Barry's sterling efforts in VC41.  SN60E has a lot of habitat including wooded valleys and the Lougher, but is largely inaccessible because the footpaths all cross pasture and the lanes are restricted to one side.  Anyway, I got 60+ species in the lanes and a stream valley SE of Ty-croes, complimenting a few things grabbed by Ian Morgan in the 1990s and IDed for him by Jonathan Graham.

Unexpected highlight of the day was a 3x3cm patch of Lophocolea fragrans on a small rock on the bank of a very ordinary roadside stream.  Sorry, these iPod photos are awful!

This species was found by the BBS at Glynhir in SN61, and this SN60 record represents the 11th Carms hectad with this uncommon liverwort.  Other vaguely noteworthy species present included Orthotrichum stramineum, Fissidens celticus, Hookeria and Dichodontium agg.