North and south - a county of contrasts

After last week's visit to the northernmost point of Monmouthshire (VC35) I have now recorded bryophytes at the southernmost point.  This is on the seawall near Lamby Pit (in modern day Cardiff), and supported 12 species on concrete and rock, with Tortula muralis, Grimmia pulvinata and Syntrichia intermedia being the southernmost mosses of all.

I didn't realise there's Coast Path parking almost next to this southernmost point, so I made an expedition of it - the 2.5 miles each way walk from Peterstone Wentloog past my birding haunts of old.  Moss diversity was pretty limited, and the only non-epiphytic liverwort was some Pellia endiviifolia on a ditch bank.  Useful notes were made on various habitats, with highlights on the seawall being an impressive abundance of Fissidens incurvus on the inland side of the seawall bank, Drepanocladus aduncus in seasonally flooded track areas, Microbryum davallianum on thin soil overlying rocks on the seaward side of the seawall, and some large colonies of Orthotrichum anomalum on the seawall rocks.

Although the saltmarsh is extensive here on Rumney Great Wharf, it is perhaps too low-lying and not quite open enough for bryophytes.  I eventually found a couple of tiny shoots of Hennediella heimii on a raised area >50m out from the seawall, whilst the other Gwent halophyte Tortula pallida was abundant on an area of stony saltmarsh disturbed in the past by pipeline excavation.

It was not a vintage day's bryology, but it was good to go somewhere I have never been before, and 4 tetrads have been ticked off on the 'to do' list (leaving 103 unvisited by me in VC35).

Moss puzzle

I did some work in Swansea Docks yesterday and finally managed to add 22 species to the previously unrecorded SS69Q. There was nothing of special note, though a single capsule of what superficially looked like Microbryum rectum seemed a little odd. The habitat comprised a mossy turf growing on a marine silt/grit crust over concrete, regularly inundated by wave spray during storms. The most prominent species were Limonium binervosum agg., Hennediella heimii, Didymodon tophaceus and Tortella flavovirens. Under the microscope the seta seemed thick and too long for M. rectum, plus the leaves looked more like those of H. heimii, with smooth cells, costa ending below the leaf tip and with a few marginal teeth near below the tip. I gently squashed the capsule under the slide cover to reveal some unripe spores. Given the habitat and the leaf characters I'm suspecting this is just a deformed capsule of H. heimii, but thought I'd post it, just in case someone else knows better.

Also of interest, the crusts of D. tophaceus were punctuated by frequent fruiting bodies of one of the bryoparasitic Pezizales, probably a Lamprospora species, though the Octospora website does not list D. tophaceus as a known host.

Glamorgan's smallest tetrad? (and Tortula query)

Yes, I know all tetrads are the same size, but in terms of land area ST16C must be one of, if not the, smallest in the county. It contains the very tip of Friars Point at Barry Island -  probably no more than 300 square metres of dry land above the inter-tidal.

I was down on the beach at Barry Island with the family yesterday so decided to take a quick look, given the lack of any previous records. Irritatingly I'd forgotten my phone/GPS so wasn't sure exactly where this tetrad started, and so took a cautious approach and only looked for bryos right at the point. Looking at the map when I got home, there was a bit more land in ST16C than I realised - so I'll have to have another look next time I'm there.

The samples I grabbed comprised only two species, both from thin soil among the limestone rocks: Tortella flavovirens and a Tortula (I think) which has me puzzled. Photos below.

Initially I thought this was T. modica but the cells are at least moderately papillose, the margins aren't obviously recurved and the leaf tip is a bit toothed. The latter character made me think it might be Hennediella but I think the seta is too short (only about 4mm). It doesn't seem to fit any of the other Tortula species very well. Any suggestions?

Thanks
George