Upper Mellte - no surprises except a tame Robin

Another day in the Waterfalls - this time searching the Sgwd Clun-gwyn and Sgwd Isaf Clun-gwyn areas of the Mellte.  The morning was pretty slow, with a few colonies of Anastrophyllum hellerianum on Oaks about the sum total of interest.  We searched a lot of mist-zone Ash trees on the west bank below Sgwd Clun-gwyn, but despite an abundance of Lejeunea cavifolia they held none of its smaller relatives.  I wonder whether the river flows are perhaps not constant enough because of the reservoir upstream - something to investigate.  Eventually we crossed to the east bank and followed a gorge-walkers' path back down to the riverside, where Graham spotted a small patch of Drepanolejeunea on an Ash.  This was well downstream of the main-river waterfall, but was clearly associated with a cascading side stream.

Graham photographing the Drepanolejeunea, and the result he got

Progress downstream towards Sgwd Isaf Clun-gwyn was notable only for the paucity of notable bryophytes, although we did manage to locate some Colura in a gorse thicket.  At last we reached the Millstone Grit scree between Sgwd Isaf Clun-gwyn and Sgwd y Pannwr, and our luck changed.  Almost immediately we located Lepidozia cupressina, and not just a little bit: great mounds, with the largest covering over a square metre!  Graham found this population a few years ago, but only at its southern end, and today's visit allowed us to fully appreciate its extent: L. cupressina was frequent to abundant through a 100x40m area, with records from 17 different 8-figure GPS squares.

All of the bryophyte cover on the rocks and tree base in the left photo is L. cupressina!

I found a particularly photogenic patch of Lepidozia and tried to photograph it.  In flew a curious Robin, which landed on the Lepidozia and even ate a scrap of cheese from my finger.  This perky little character is clearly used to tourists, and followed us around for nearly half an hour.

The scree woodland also held a few patches of Jamesoniella autumnalis - the only time we saw it during the day - as well as several colonies of Plagiochila punctata.  Speculative collections of potential Hylocomium umbratum and Hypnum callichroum will be investigated fully tomorrow.

Large Jamesoniella autumnalis with red leaves, which had me hoping for Mylia, and potential Hylocomium umbratum (which is probably just H. brevirostre)

Jamesoniella and Plagiochila in abundance

Graham and I searched another previously unknown section of Coedydd Nedd a Mellte SAC today, with oceanic liverworts our primary focus.  This went pretty well, overall, despite stygian darkness that made the search difficult.  Some sections of the Nedd are outstandingly rocky and bryophyte-rich!

We parked at Pont Melin-fach and started off on the west bank downstream of the carpark.  This area (SN90611025) holds one of the largest populations of Jamesoniella autumnalis either of us had ever seen, with some Oak trunks supporting 10s of extensive patches.

The entire bryophyte cover on this tree trunk is Jamesoniella!

After GPSing a good number of Jamesoniella trees and noting Tritomaria exsectiformis and Anastrophyllum hellerianum, we returned to the carpark and headed upstream, again on the west bank.  Jamesoniella and Anastrophyllum were each encountered a few times upstream of Pont Melin-fach, but never in abundance.  Instead, Plagiochila punctata was remarkably abundant, with Graham locating at least 4 colonies including one tree at SN90881076 with 50+ patches of this liverwort.  Although there are a few scattered colonies of P. punctata in the SAC, it is much rarer here than P. spinulosa.  Plagiochila bifaria was also present on one tree, and P. spinulosa was on a few rocky areas.

Remarkably, the Plagiochila punctata trees were in clifftop woodland; Graham is looking at the main tree.

Just before we reached the Plagiochila hotspot, I spotted 6 patches of Drepanolejeunea hamatifolia on a relatively young Ash by a cascading sidestream (SN90871068).  This is about 1.5km from the only previous record of Drepanolejeunea from the SAC, found a couple of months ago.

Further upstream, we found an area of rocky woodland where Bazzania trilobata was locally abundant, with 20+ patches in a 10x10m area (SN91001088).  Despite Coedydd Nedd a Mellte supporting the best example of Oceanic woodland in south Wales, there are very few colonies of Bazzania on the site, even though this species is found much further south and east in Wales than the SAC's rarer oceanic liverworts.

The final notable liverwort of the day is, like Bazzania, more interesting in a Coedydd Nedd a Mellte context than in a wider south Wales context: we found Colura calyptrifolia on at least 4 Hazel and Ash around SN91121105.  Despite this species being found in most of south Wales' conifer plantations, often in great abundance, this is only the 2nd or 3rd time is has been seen in the SAC.  It is, of course, a Hyperoceanic liverwort that used to be restricted in Wales to a few of the best oceanic woodland ravines, and its rarity in south Wales' ravines (even where Aphanolejeunea, Drepanolejeunea, Harpalejeunea and Plagiochila exigua are present) is intriguing.

Another section of this amazing site has now been explored, and more bryophyte hotspots found.  There's still the area upstream of Pont Rhyd-y-cnau to be done, plus the central Mellte.

Magical Mellte

A small selection of hepatics from yesterday:

Metzgeria conjugata (Rock Veilwort)
growing in tiers on vertical face of large boulder

Barbilophozia attenuata (Trunk Pawwort)
at the base of a Larch trunk

Cephalozia catenulata (Chain Pincerwort)
noted on several decorticated logs

Jamesoniella autumnalis (Autumn Flapwort) &
Blepharostoma trichophyllum (Hairy Threadwort)
on a fallen oak

Leiocolea bantriensis (Bantry Notchwort)
on the vertical face of a flushed river side outctop

Mellte Valley

A few photos from today's superb outing to the Mellte Valley.


Examining the best horizontal trunk of the day

 and the banks of the Afon Mellte.

Distichium capillaceum

 Rhytidiadelphus subpinnatus

and finally my new favourite liverwort, Jamesoniella autumnalis (with a little Blepharostoma trichophyllum for good measure)

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

Meirionydd fun

A daytrip to Meirionydd involved visits to three waterfalls/streams.  The nicest was a couple of km from the famous Coed Ganllwyd - Wales' top oceanic ravine - and although it didn't live up to its neighbour's richness it did hold plenty of lovely bryophytes.  These included Jamesoniella autumnalis (photo) on an old Birch, Mylia taylori (photo) on a rotting log, Lepidozia pearsonii (photo) on a mossy slope, locally frequent Plagiochila punctata, P. spinulosa and P. bifaria, abundant Bazzania trilobata and Dicranodontium denudatum, Hygrobiella laxifolia and Jungermannia paroica by the stream, Blepharostoma trichophyllum on a rockface, and probably best of all a few shoots of Tritomaria exsecta on a rotting log.  The lack of tiny Lejeuneaceae and Sematophyllum demissum was a disappointment, but it's a surprisingly long rocky valley and I only had an hour there.