Filling in the gaps

During the last few weeks H and I have been revisiting a lot of NPT monads in an attempt to fill in the gaps in the records of several common species like Bryum dichotomum, B. argenteum and Funaria hygrometrica, mostly along forestry roads.

Bryum dichotomum

Bryum argenteum and Funaria hygrometrica

Funaria hygrometrica

Now is a good time to record these seemingly prosaic species, which are important ruderal pioneers. Although we haven't seen anything very special, it was nice to see a colony of Blasia pusilla along a cinder track near the Tennant Canal in Jersey Marine yesterday. Unfortunately, the plants were rather decrepit and they had lost their flasks, but there were a few stellate gemmae.

Blasia pusilla, Jersey Marine

Stellate gemma of Blasia pusilla 

 This is the third population we've seen in NPT, but colonies are always rather transient.

Bits and pieces

On Friday I spent a couple of hours tying up some loose ends. First port of call was the Ty-du arable field (ST103800), where Sam and Julian found immature Phaeoceros thalli in late September. These had matured in the intervening weeks; strangely, all those I found (and there were lots of them) were male, indicating they were the dioecious species P. laevis (photo below left). As in September, Anthoceros thalli were also in evidence (photo below right) and I managed to find some male organs to confirm them as A. agrestis (though I think Sam had already done this).

I was surprised by the abundance of Fossombronia, a genus I've not seen in other arable fields locally.  The sporophytes were immature but after a few days ripening at home I was able to extract spores enabling identification as F. pusilla.

Next stop was the roadside limestone outcrops in Pentyrch, with my hopes high after Barry's recent find of Weissia sterilis in Julian's nearby garden. Although 16 calcicoles were recorded there was no Weissia among them. The best record was probably Brachythecium glareosum.

Finally, 45 minutes were spent in Efail Isaf making a start on ST08X. Among the 36 species recorded were Pleuridium subulatum and Fossombronia pusilla on soil in the village allotments.

An enjoyable two hours despite the hail showers!

Fossombronia pusilla and a few more bryophilous fungi

We've been paying a bit more attention to fungi than bryophytes so far this autumn, but this weekend we happened upon a small group of fruiting Fossombronia pusilla on a forest track growing with  Dicranella varia and Trichodon cylindrica. George has already posted a nice photo of pusilla's characteristic spores, so I've not duplicated that here.

Fossombronia pusilla, Pelenna Forest track

 Photos below show a few of the common bryophilous species that we've seen already this autumn. Galerina is a genus of about 50, small brown spored species in Britain, most of which are associated with bryophytes but are difficult to identify in the field. However, Galerina vittiformis and G. sphagnicola are fairly distinct.

Galerina vittiformis with Dicranum scoparium. Note deeply sulcate cap.

Galerina sphagnorum in marshy grassland. Habitat and mottled stem are good indicators

Arrhenia is a small genus of species that grow in grassland and heathland usually associated with bryophytes. Some occur on sand dunes, notably A. spathulata, which is fairly common on Kenfig Dunes. Arrhenia griseopallida is a widespread species of dry, mossy grassland and lawns.

Arrhenia griseopallida.  Note funnel shaped cap.

Rickenella fibula is one of the most common bryophilous species in Britain. It has a tiny yellowish fruiting body which often grows among woodland floor bryophytes - it looks a little like a very small Bonnet (Mycena species).

Rickenella fibula

Fossombronia spores

Not the best photos but I thought it would be nice to share them. I've had no luck in the past with finding fruiting Fossombronia, and therefore hadn't been able to identify any specimens to species level until now. A visit to the in-laws in Cornwall over the bank holiday gave me the chance to check a patch of Fossombronia on their garden path (growing in the cracks between the flag stones). I found this patch at Christmas but there were no sporophytes at the time (I kept some thalli in a sealed pot for a few days, but no luck). Thankfully a few sporophytes were present last weekend and allowed confirmation of F. pusilla. Although not a scarce species, the combination of the ornamented spores and spiralled elaters made for a rather beautiful arrangement. 

Fossombronia pusilla spores and elaters

Fossombronia pusilla spores and elaters