The Gloucestershire Bryophyte group at Llangattock

The Glos bryology group arranged an out-of-county day at the eastern end of Llangattock this year, to give us a bit of a change from the usual neutral / calcareous woodlands and grasslands of our own county. 7 of us turned up at the quarry car park on a chilly Sunday morning in March, to explore the conical spoil heaps, fallen boulders and quarry walls of the area. We didn’t get very far (as usual!), but still managed to record 97 species for the square SO2015.

Highlights of the day were Racomitrium canescens on the grassland at SO20241554, and Bryum elegans on a fallen boulder at the base of the quarry (SO20491535). Both are new species for VC 42.

Racomitrium canescens

Bryum elegans in situ

Bryum elegans: Note reflexed hair-points and border of long narrow cells

We spotted some lovely patches of Sanionia uncinata sheltered within the walls of an old building and scattered throughout the grass on the spoil heaps above.

The Climacium dendroides was looking particularly photogenic and I just couldn’t resist...

We saw Philonotis calcarea, new to many of us, and Sharon Pilkington unintentionally collected Philonotis arnelli in amongst another specimen. Sharon also spotted Distichium inclinatum on the outside wall of the derelict building – there were old capsules which were clearly inclined, and new ones coming which I will go back and photograph if I get a chance.

Further to the west, David Hawkins found Calliergon cordifolium in shallow pools on the quarry bottom, but sadly the inevitable rain arrived about then, so we have no photos.

Finally, not to forget the liverworts, some beautiful Ptilidium ciliare on rocks amongst the grassland to the west of the spoil heaps:

And Tritomaria quinquedentata on the spoil heaps amongst the grass and other bryophytes:

All in all, we had a fantastic day and are planning a return trip soon for those who couldn’t make the first visit.

North of Pontardawe

A job in Pontardawe yesterday gave me the opportunity to boost a couple of tetrads (SN70H & SN70I). The sandstone crags in Coedalltacham (SN723048) held small quantities of Amphidium mougeotii and Diphyscium foliosum, but despite looking promising held little else of note in this rather dry hanging oakwood dominated by Luzula sylvactica. The most interesting event at this location was when I took off my right welly to remove a stone, then watching it roll and bounce a couple of times before dropping over a 5m cliff. With plenty Holly and Bramble in the shrub layer, it was a very prickly descent to retrieve it!

The bryoflora along the banks of the nearby stream running through more humid, largely acid oak woodland in Cwm Sion (SN729053) was much more diverse, with frequent Amphidium mougeotii and Saccogyna viticulosa  [photo below] and occasional Fissidens pusillus, Jungermannia pumila, fruiting Pseudotaxiphyllum elegans [photos below] and a small quantity of Trichostomum tenuirostre [couple of small shoots in top photo below]. Wefts of Heterocladium heteropterum were a bit confusing as cell shape (4:1 ratio) fit var. heteropterum, but size was much better for var. flaccidum - any advice welcome. Also I'd be grateful if anyone could let me know what the spiky rudimentary leaves are, which to the naked eye looked like dark reddish fuzz growing on rock, under shaded overhangs [bottom two photos below]? [identified by Sam as Tetrodontium brownianum].

 

Finally a quick stop at a bog on Cefn Gwrhyd (SN725064), which looked interesting with frequent Hypericum elodes, Menyanthes trifoliata and nine species of Sphagnum, produced records of Cladopodiella fluitans and Warnstorfia fluitans [photos below]. A Cephalozia looked interesting but I couldn't make it anything other than bicuspidata.

Pseudotaxiphyllum fruiting?

Another specimen collected from Cefn Mably last weekend was this possible Pseudotaxiphyllum elegans growing on a log. Nothing at all remarkable about that, but there were numerous sporophytes present. Capsules seem to be rarely reported in this species, with two records of fruiting specimens mentioned in the Carms flora and none in the Pembs flora.

There were some deciduous branchlets present and the leaf bases are not decurrent, so I think it must be P. elegans and not a Plagiothecium species - but if anyone disagrees please let me know.

Indoor mosses

I found Pseudotaxiphyllum elegans with ripe capsules in an orchid pot in a friend’s house today. At least I assume this is what it is, as while I don’t think there’s anything else that’s native it could be, there’s always the possibility of it being an alien import? The plants appeared smaller than typical elegans to me plus I couldn’t find any branchlets in the small sample I collected.

Also, last weekend I saw Leptodictyum riparium in fruit and growing well in the indoor water display at Wyevale Garden Centre in Llansamlet.

Species-poor bryophyte habitats #1

You might expect the extensive, near mono-specific stands of Japanese Knotweed in Swansea to be one of the most unpromising bryo habitats...and you’d be right! A 20 minute search yesterday of one such stand, at Gors Avenue Quarry, Cwmbwrla (SS650945) produced just 16 species and failed to challenge this assumption. Not only were there virtually no other vascular plants represented in the field layer, the only niche where bryos were noted was on the very oldest decaying Knotweed root balls and quarry walls, but only where these were raised above ground level on what must be very old plants. For the record the only species noted were Brachythecium rutabulum, Calypogeia arguta, C.fissa, Kindbergia praelonga, Metzgeria furcata, Oxyrrhynchium hians & Pseudotaxiphyllum elegans.

The quarry walls provided a little bit of compensation and additional species noted included Diplophyllum albicans & Nardia scalaris.