This afternoon I spent 40 mins of Alfie-time looking at a small part of what is a much wider area of south-facing coal spoil in Cwm Dulais SN613036 - how many Cwm Dulais's must there be in Wales! An unremarkable total of 31 bryos were recorded, along with what I'm suspecting must be
Galium parisiense, which was locally frequent. I'm not sure if
G. parisiense has been recorded on coal spoil before, but it's clearly well adapted to it and would be worth checking for on other tips. Bryologiocally, there was nothing of great note, but it was an interesting assemblage all the same, with frequent
Archidium alternifolium (photo 3)
, Homalothecium lutescens, Hypnum cupressiforme var.
lacunosum (photos 3-4) and occasional
Calliergonella lindbergii, Didymodon ferrugineus, Syntrichia ruralis var.
ruraliformis (photo 4) &
Trichostomum crispulum. Nearby,
Fontinalis antipyretica and
F. squamosa were noted growing side-by-side in the river.
