I've been wanting to have a proper look at Tarren y Gigfran (ST09U), an area of sandstone crags and block screes to the south of Aberfan, for some time - and I finally got the chance yesterday. There were only two previous bryo records from the site:
Andreaea rothii ssp.
falcata recorded by Wade in 1958, and
Racomitrium lanuginosum recorded by me on a casual visit in 2012.
On the way to the crags was a small wooded cwm filled with huge sandstone blocks.
These supported a good range of acidophiles including abundant
Scapanea nemorea on some of the blocks.
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| Sandstone blocks with abundant Scapanea nemorea |
To reach the east-facing northern crag I had to cross a large area of block screes, which supported abundant
Racomitrium heterostichum, occasional
A. rothii ssp.
falcata, small patches of
Ptilidium ciliare and
Scapania gracilis, and a couple of patches of what I think is
Polytrichastrum alpinum (see photo below - stems were branched and look good for it, but I suppose I should attempt a leaf section to confirm).
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| Sandstone blocks and crags beyond |
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| Andreaea rothii ssp. falcata |
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| Ptilidium ciliare |
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| Polytrichastrum alpinum (tbc) |
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| Polytrichastrum alpinum (tbc) |
The northern crags showed absolutely no evidence of base enrichment, but a nice range of calcifuge mosses were present including frequent Cynodontium bruntonii and a couple of cushions of Bartramia pomiformis.
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| Cynodontium bruntonii |
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| Bartramia pomiformis |
The itch isn't quite scratched as I didn't have time to look at the southern crag, which is north-east facing and longer than the northern crag. Another time...
