Cwmnantlleucu Quarry

On my way up to SN70P yesterday evening I passed the quarry, which was quiet, so I parked in the entrance area and had a quick look at the easily accessible rock exposure. Despite everything being bone dry and caked in dust, making id challenging, species such as Amphidium mougeotii (green cushions on images below) and Racomitrium aciculare with Diplophyllum albicans (the extensive dark grey crud on the images below) could almost be described as growing luxuriantly. I still have a box of dirt-covered samples to go through over the weekend, but there appeared to be nothing particularly unusual or unexpected. One observation of interest on the dirt below the rock face was fruiting Pohlia wahlenbergii var. wahlenbergii, which is said to be rare (photo below).

The large oak on the right side of the top photo had an interesting looking pleurocarp growing on an accumulation of powdery dirt in the fork of the trunk. I was convinced this was going to be something I'd not seen before, but in the end all I could make it was odd-looking Brachythecium rutabulum [in fact Sciuro-hypnum plumosum - see comments]. Is there something I may have overlooked?

Aberdulais

A site visit to a small residential development just above Aberdulais today took the tetrad total for SN70Q from 65 to 105. The development footprint comprised cleared land where some garages used to be, but the ownership included woodland that extended down to the river. Fortunately the owner is very wildlife-friendly and is keen to improve the woodland, which has plenty of Rhododendron, Impatiens and Fallopia targeted for eradication. Unsurprisingly the immediate riverbank was the most interesting part of the site and included a nice drippy cliff to boot.

Amphidium mougeotii on upper coal measures
shale and sandstone sequence

The highlight was another new site for Jubula hutchinsiae, though this time, just a small 10cm x 5cm patch amongst mossy rocks ~30cm above winter water line at SN77380019. Other species of note included Amphidium mougeotii, Fissidens osmundoides, Gymnostomum aeruginosum, Heterocladium heteropterum var. heteropterum, Jungermannia atrovirens plus another Jungermannia non-fruiting species, Marsupella emarginata var. emarginata & Saccogyna viticulosa.

Jubula location just below lower corner of notebook