Bwlch-y-clawdd (SS9494)

We intended to square bash in SS99N (RCT) only to find that the A4061 above Cwmparc was closed for roadworks - the suggested diversion would have taken ages. We decided to have a look at a small north-facing, sandstone outcrop just off the road and below Mynydd Ton (SS942946).

The scree below the outcrop is populated with large amounts of Racomitrium lanuginosum,  R. fasciculare and Stereocaulon vesuvianum but there are some nice patches of Huperzia selago here too. Much of the Andreaea on the slabs is A. rothii ssp falcata, but there is also a small amount of A.  rupestris.

Huperzia selago and Stereocaulon vesuvianum

Also of interest below the main outcrop is the frequent occurrence of Barbilophozia floerkii and lots of Lophozia ventricosa. We searched for L. sudetica but failed to find any convincing material.

Barbilophozia floerkii

With optimism we climbed up to the outcrop, but the best we could find was a small patch of Hymenophyllum wilsonii, which is frequently present on north-facing sandstone in RCT (and never disappoints). Other stuff included Heterocladium heteropterum, Pohlia nutans and Racomitrium aquaticum. All in all it is a typical, if not spectacular, collection of upland species on a relatively small outcrop which is quite near to a very busy road. You might expect Oreoweisia bruntonii and Bartramia here too, but if they are there they escaped us.

Tony Smith (in A Bryophyte Flora of Glamorgan) describes the Rhondda sandstone outcrops as mostly east-facing and relatively species-poor. I don't know to what extent that has deterred people from exploring these cliffs, but it might explain why species like B. floerkii have been regarded as rare in Glamorgan. In my experience even the small outcrops are worth a look.

Upper Ogwr

This inviting gully, which is accessed from the hairpin bend on the A4061 near Craig Ogwr, has been on our list for some time. So late yesterday afternoon H and I climbed up along the stream towards the sandstone outcrop. The wet gully rocks had lots of Hyocomium armoricum and Racomitrium aciculare and small amounts of Marsupella emarginata while Andreaea rothii ssp. falcata, Racomitrium fasciculare and R. lanuginosa were on dry, exposed boulders and scree. Small patches of Bartramia pomiformis,  Gymnostomum aeruginosum and Saccogyna viticulosus occurred with typical mounds of Amphidium mougeotii on the outcrop, which was otherwise a bit disappointing. I have often looked for Tritomaria quinquedentata in Glamorgan in places like this, and especially at Craig y Llyn where Roy recorded it in the 1970s, without any success. Yesterday, I thought we had found it on the rocks at the top of the gully below the waterfall. Alas, I was blinded by expectation; it was Barbilophozia floerkei (Common Pawwort), which is found in similar places elsewhere in Glamorgan and is not unexpected in upper Ogwr. Nevertheless this subarctic-alpine liverwort is not common in south Wales until you get to the north-western parts of Breconshire and its occurrence in this gully adds a nice dot to its current VC41 distribution map.

 Barbilophozia floerkii, Hairpin Bend Gully

Interestingly, Tony Smith recorded  B. barbata on nearby Craig Ogwr over 50 years ago (NB specimens from the gully had well developed cilia at base of leaves).

Cilia at base of Barbilophozia floerkei leaf

Barbilophozia floerkei underleaf

The new total for this tetrad (SS99H) is 90. There's plenty more to explore.

View of Upper Ogwr the from top of Hairpin Bend Gully