Moerckia

Have eventually managed to get back into my Google account ...

Now that autumn has set in (i.e.the swifts have gone), my mind is turning again to bryos.

A recent trip with Jonathan Saville to some sloppy calcareous flushes in the Black Mountains just SE of the Grwyne Reservoir, which we first spotted last winter, proved quite rewarding for vascular plants, with a strong population of Eriophorum latifolium and small pops of Carex lepidocarpa and Carex dioica amongst other things.    One of my main reasons for revisiting was that I hoped to refind Amblyodon dealbatus, which was reported from this area during an NCC survey of the upland vegetation in the 1980s.  No joy with that moss, but a small area less than 0.5m  diameter with some tufa deposition caught my eye and sure enough a small amount of Moerckia flotoviana was present.   I have come across perhaps half a dozen sites for this liverwort scattered across the National Park all as very small populations in similar tufaceous habitat, usually present as a very restricted area in flushes dominated by the likes of Palustriella commutata and Scorpidium species.  Moerckia may prove to be relatively frequent in areas where there has been a lot of lime working, such as the Foel Fawr on Mynydd Du, but it seems amazing that it is able to find and colonise such rare habitat often hidden away in seas of Nardus and Molinia.    

Miscellaneous

While on a trip to Banwen and Onllwyn a few days ago, principally to check out some old meadows in the vicinity of the washery, H and I took a brief stroll along the path that bisects Gors Llwyn SSSI. Sam and others have recorded some nice wetland bryophytes here, including Hamatocaulis vernicosus, Kurzia pauciflora and Nardia geoscyphus. A good part of the SSSI is in Glamorgan (in NPT in fact), so it adds some significant species to the county list, and once upon a time there was a population of Trollius europaeus here. Carex elata, in one of its few inland sites in Glamorgan, is within easy reach of the path, just inside the county boundary, as is a nice photogenic colony of  Plagiomnium elatum along with Straminergon stramineum.

Plagiomnium elatum, Gors Llwyn

Straminergon stramineum, Gors Llwyn

The old meadows near the washery are of significant interest. One holds small populations of Epipactis palustris and Samolus valerandi, both increasingly rare in wetlands away from the coast in South Wales. Next door (and opposite Gors Llwyn) there is a superb swampy habitat with huge amounts of Bogbean, Marsh Cinquefoil and Water Horsetail and other M27 species. 

Yesterday, after reading George's account of Sam's Kenfig course, followed by a quick phone call to Barry, we went on an Amblyodon and Moerckia twitch. We spent most of the afternoon on our hands and knees with reading glasses on, occasionally loosing the will to live while searching for Moerckia! But success...thanks boys.

Amblyodon dealbatus, Kenfig

Moerckia flotoviana, Kenfig

Kenfig dune slack day

I enjoyed an excellent introduction to dune slack bryophytes today, organised by Hannah Shaw of Freshwater Habitats Trust and led by Sam. Despite not finding any Petalophyllum there were plenty of highlights.

One of several splendid fruiting patches of Amblyodon dealbatus (thanks to Barry for the tip on where to find it).

Several thalli of Moerckia flotoviana found by Sam at SS78738194 (first site record since 2012?).

Pseudocalliergon lycopodioides at SS788820.