Damp bryo birthday bash

I took the day off work on Tuesday with the intention of a birthday bryo outing to the hills, but the morning rain put me off attempting anything at altitude. So it turned into a woodland day instead - less extreme but thoroughly enjoyable.

I started with a trip to see the Lepidozia cupressina colony at Caerphilly Mountain (found by Peter Sturgess in 2015). It was much easier to find than on our frosty visit in January 2016, though I only found patches of it on three stones (Bazzania trilobata was much more extensive).

 

After that I nipped up to Nant Gelliwion Woodland SSSI on the edge of Pontypridd, where we only scratched the surface during a fungus group foray in September. The site held records of 18 common bryo species, mostly from past CCW surveys, but had clearly never been properly explored.

I spent a couple of hours exploring the stream and the north-facing slope of the woodland, which produced a few species of local significance including two which I think are new for ST08. The best of these was Metzgeria conjugata, which occupied the downstream side of a stream boulder (outlined in photo below). Also of note was Heterocladium heteropterum var flaccidum.

A few other often sterile species were seen with capsules, including Tetraphis pellucida, Homalia trichomanoides and a large, dark green form of Ctenidium molluscum (photos below).

 

Many of the decorticated logs in the wood were covered in Nowellia and one had a couple of patches of Riccardia palmata. A more recently fallen tree held some Frullania tamarisci.

I also have some hair-pointless Racomitrium on which to attempt a nerve section - given the streamside location I'm hoping this might be R. affine.

70 taxa were recorded within the wood; another visit to explore the other side of the valley would surely add more. Additional exploration along the lanes and in the conifer plantation elsewhere in ST08P would probably take this tetrad to a very respectable species total.

Heterocladium heteropterum var. flaccidum

I noticed several small rocks covered in Heterocladium during a family walk at Coed-y-wenallt (North Cardiff ridgeway) yesterday. This came as a surprise as the wood is generally of little bryological interest and lacks humidity-demanding species, though I haven't had a proper look at Nant Cwmnofydd in the valley bottom (though Peter Sturgess and Roy Perry have recorded here).

 
Yesterday's sample proved to be H. heteropterum var. flaccidum, which updates an old Atlas record for ST18 made at the same site by A.E. Wade in 1951. The colony I found was by a footpath at ST149830 and could conceivably be the same colony that Wade recorded 65 years ago.

Plagiochila query from Cwm Clydach, Kidwelly SSSI

Below are some images of two Plagiochila samples collected on Monday, close to the second (new?) Sticta canariensis site in the upper section of the gorge (main site shown above). Growing on a small dark cliff face, were scattered shoots of a tiny Plagiochila that I took to be depauperate spinulosa, as there were some nice patches of the latter only 1m away. However, as it shows a casual resemblance to exigua, I thought pass it by for discussion / to highlight the potential for confusion.

First up, healthy spinulosa specimens (note the long decurrent antical margin):

Now the troublesome specimen, associates including Trichostomum tenuirostre, Heterocladium flaccidum, Lejeunea lamacerina, etc. (note the 'mostly short decurrent antical margin - but probably not as short as it should be, plus the leaves may be a bit too wide and broad-based?):

To get an idea of size, the following image shows a shoot along with Heterocladium flaccidum, Lejeunea lamacerina and the Trichomanes speciosum gametophyte:

Location of the diminutive Plagiochila, it being more well-tucked in than the image might indicate:

Plus the reason for me being at this lovely site, the cyanobacterial morph of Sticta canariensis: