Cefn Bryn flushes revisited

Shoots of an interesting looking Cephalozia, which were scattered through several mounds of Sphagnum subnitens growing in an area of mild base flushing @ SS49679051 proved to be pleniceps under the microscope, based on leaf morphology (photos above). I’ll send a voucher to Sam as this is new for Glamorgan. Otherwise I only had limited time to check on a small area around the colony of Palustriella falcata I noted earlier this year (I wanted to double check that I had correctly identified it following the recent nearby discovery of Hamatocaulis – it was just P. falcata - photos below). The spring line below where the Bracken ends (visible in aerial above) holds species such as Anagallis tenella, Campylium stellatum, Ctenidium molluscum, Fissidens adianthoides and Philonotis calcarea. This is the first time I’ve looked at this faeture and I only had time for 10 minutes here, so well worth a revisit. Cefn Bryn continues to turn up interesting bryophytes and Sphagnum platyphyllum is my new target now H. vernicosus has been ticked off – there were some good pretenders today in the area with P. falcata and Scorpidium cossonii, but it was just odd-looking denticulatum unfortunately. Checks of a couple of Bryum samples from burnt areas of acid ground proved to be bornholmense, which I would suggest is probably quite frequent at this site.

 Vegetation on left side of stream with abundant P. falcata & S. cossonii

Brown moss confusion

An hour and half looking at Sphagnum on Cefn Bryn yesterday afternoon turned up no surprises on the bog-moss front, with squarrosum being the most interesting of the nine species noted (new for SS49) records indicating that this is a localised species on the Gower peninsula. Best of the incidentals were a few small patches of Lophozia incisa on streamside peat, plus a small basic flush with frequent Philonotis calcarea which held a confusing mix of brown mosses that I am still trying to fathom. There is definitely Sarmentypnum exannulatum and Scorpidium cossonii, but there is also either Palustriella falcata or Hamatocaulis vernicosus, or as I suspect both!  I’ll have a closer look again at my specimens when I get a chance, but here are a photos of a few shoots I looked at last night. The sward was heavily poached and there were no decent stands of anything, making an intriguing puzzle of poorly grown plants.

Here are some images of shoots what looked like, and keyed out, as vernicosus. Nice broad shoots, though the leaf bases were't especially red on any of the material I collected (just a small sample). None of the leaves had differentiated alar cells and most were obviously pleated when wet, though not as strongly as in falcata. Costa weak beyond mid-point, ending at around 2/3.

These last two images were from another sample at the same location, the leaves being more strongly pleated and with differentiated alar cells. Though I could not detect and small leafy outgrowths on the stem during a quick search, I'm suspecting this might be falcata - one for later...

Thoughts on any of the above welcome.

The non-bryological highlight was a lovely clump of Clavulinopsis fusiformis [thanks for the ID Sam] in U3 Agrostis curtisii grassland on the ridge of Cefn Bryn.

Out and about

I've had a lean winter recording-wise, but at least February proved to be reasonably productive. Most records were made around Cardiff, Bridgend and Merthyr Tydfil, during stop offs on the way home from work trips. Nothing remarkable has been recorded but minor highlights have included:

Lophozia bicrenata growing with Lycopodium clavatum among sparse Calluna heath on the former dry ski slope at Troedyrhiw (SO0703). I first saw the clubmoss here back in 2007 and it was pleasing to see it still thrives at the site.

 

Bryum violaceum on gravelly roadside soil, also at Troedyrhiw (SO0603); note smooth violet rhizoids and small tubers.

Scapania compacta and Andreaea rothii ssp. falcata on sandstone quarry waste at Merthyr Vale (ST0899).

In Cardiff and Bridgend I've not seen anything noteworthy, though it has been good to confirm Ulota crispa s.s. from several localities (I've been unable to find either U. intermedia or U. crispula to date, despite microscope checking of quite a few samples).

I'll aim to prepare an updated tetrad map in the next couple of weeks, which should show at least a few recording gaps being filled.

Coal spoil at Penygroes

A total of 60 bryos were recorded growing directly on coal spoil at this development site in Penygroes, vc44. Most interest was focused on the mildly basic 'Cratoneuron filicinum-Bryum pseudotriquetrum' seepages found around the margins of the site, with noteworthy species including Bryoerythrophyllum ferruginascens and Palustriella falcata. Both were rare on site and it's the first time that I have encountered the latter on spoil, the location of the only patch I saw shown below. 

The central plateau was much less interesting, being dominated by Campylopus introflexus and Lotus corniculatus, which together with locally frequent Cladonia spp. formed a distinctive coal spoil community.

Tan y Darren

Yesterday I had a thoroughly enjoyable time exploring the north-facing crags and screes at the head of Cwm Dare. It was a bit of a flying visit as I had to get back for the school run, and as usual I spent too much time looking at other habitats on the walk in from the car. I did manage to have a decent look at the screes, but after that I only had an hour left to look at the sandstone crags. This gave me enough time to explore the easternmost crags, but I didn't even make it as far west as the area where filmy ferns have been recorded.

The crags didn't disappoint, despite the lack of any obvious base enrichment. There were a couple of cracking patches of fruiting Diphyscium foliosum in rock crevices (photo below - left), a few capsules of Pohlia elongata protruding from under an overhang (photo below - right), a small patch of Cynodontium bruntonii, quite a lot of Polytrichastrum alpinum (tbc), as well as Bartramia pomiformis and Fir Clubmoss.

The screes held abundant cushions of Andreaea rothii (ssp falcata) (photo below - right) and I found a single cushion of the scarcer A. rupestris (photo below - left, though I'm kicking myself I didn't bring back a shoot to check for the similar-looking rare species). Although the rocks were acidic, the small stream which I followed up the hill from the cwm had signs of base enrichment with plenty of Ctenidium molluscum and a little Palustriella commutata. So far my list for SN9601 is 58 taxa, but I still have samples to sort through...

Fifty five taxa were recorded on the walk in through SN9602, including Climacium dendroides on colliery spoil and Riccardia palmata on a stump in wet alder woodland.

It's definitely an area which needs another visit!

Festive Foel Fawr

A Christmas Day spin over Mynydd Du to take in a bit of fresh air included a brief stop by the ultra-basic flushes below Clogau Mawr SN725194. Species of interest included Palustriella falcata, which was dominant over large areas, with plenty cushions of Hymenostylium recurvirostrum hosting a range of other species such as Aneura pinguis, Jungermannia atrovirens and Anagallis tenella.

An itch that needed to be scratched

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.

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).

Sandstone blocks and crags beyond

Andreaea rothii ssp. falcata

Ptilidium ciliare

Polytrichastrum alpinum (tbc)

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.

Cynodontium bruntonii

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...