Lower Clydach River above Craig-cefn-parc

I never found anything remarkable during a two hour search along a 1km stretch of the river today, which lacked any cascades greater than what are visible in the above photo. There was a nice colony of Jungermannia pumila (above) on one of only a couple of small cliffs, but probably the most interesting species were Ephemerum minutissimum and Bryum sauteri in an area of disturbed M23a.

One curiosity was Phlebia radiata which was enveloping entire shoots of Hypnum cupressiforme creating an interesting form (note the sample on the right in the image below has been turned upside-down). 

Afon Alun

A visit to Coed-y-bwl to enjoy the Daffodil display provided an opportunity for a little bit of bryologising in this well recorded tetrad. I never saw anything of special note, though it was only the second time I've encountered fruiting Dialytrichia mucronata, which was well-established on Pont Brown. The lane walls were covered in mosses - mostly Thamnobryum alopecurum and Anomodon viticulosus - and a riverside Field Maple was heavily draped with mosses including Neckera pumila. A really lovely mossy site.

Parc Lodge Wood bryology

Graham and I needed to visit Parc Lodge Wood - in the Sugarloaf Woodlands SAC of NW Monmouthshire - to see whether water abstraction from a series of springs has been damaging the woodland.  This gave me a chance to look for bryophytes at a SSSI that I had last visited in August 2000, when I found 66 species.  This time I missed Trichocolea, Lophozia ventricosa and Thuidium delicatulum, but added 37 species to the site total: a useful visit!

The Old Sessile Oak woodland is rather impoverished compared with its analogues in the Nedd & Mellte valleys or Meirionnydd (!) but holds locally abundant Dicranum majus and occasional Rhytidiadelphus loreus and is therefore more western feeling than most woods in Monmouthshire.  The stream in the valley bottom supported some Lejeunea lamacerina, Heterocladium flaccidum and Jungermannia pumila, all of which are uncommon in the county, and a spring held Sphagnum fimbriatum and S. palustre.  I completely missed epiphytes in 2000 (or perhaps there weren't any), so 10 common species such as Metzgeria furcata and 3x Ulota were new.

As we left the woodland we passed a small spring with Anagallis tenella, Briza media, Ctenidium molluscum, Campylium protensum and Fissidens adianthoides, and then a stream with Marchantia polymorpha, Scapania irrigua, Dicranella staphylina and Bryum violaceum.  The tetrad needs another visit, to a churchyard and bridge in the east of the square, but today's visit has bumped it up above the 100 mark.

Neckera pumila

Yesterday I noted Neckera pumila on a Rusty Willow on the Great Plain at Whiteford (above), in the last week or two I also recorded it on Ash in the entrance of Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend (below left) and on a Hornbeam at NBGW (below right). The common thread with these records is that it was only noted on single trees at each site, although when found it was growing luxuriantly. At NBGW I had a feeling someone was watching me!

Penrice

A very quick search of three Acer cf. velutinum in Penrice Estate (in the hope of finding Habrodon) this afternoon produced 22 species, the best of which were Neckera pumila, Brachytheciastrum velutinum, Orthotrichum striatum & O. stramineum. Sandra found a hibernating Grey Shoulder-knot on a nearby fallen trunk, which was rather nice.

Neckera pumila

Grey Shoulder-knot

Mid-week, Bryum donianum was found growing with Bryoerythrophyllum recurvirostrum amongst grassy overhangs on the sandy slopes below Cwm Ivy Tor, an interesting habitat.

Garnswllt (north)

Yesterday morning a few small patches of Jungermannia pumila growing on the reinforced banks of the Afon Cathan SN621102 were the highlight of the 62 species recorded during a brief sojourn into the small part of SN61F that belongs to Glamorgan.