Miscellaneous December mosses (and liverworts!)

Here are a few images of some interesting observations I've not found time to post about over the last few weeks of 2018:

A rubbishy record shot of Campylopus subulatus collected from a forest track at Gwaun Nant-y-bwch during an excursion with Charles on 11th Dec. This is just the third Glamorgan site.

Lopidium concinnum (Hypopterygiaceae) was the most conspicuous of four aliens noted on a Dicksonia antarctica 'trunk' in Swansea's Wyevale on 20th December. Heteroscyphus fissistipus was the only other species I managed to identify. All were recorded as live, although the exposed parts of the Lopidium shoots were dead/bleached.

On the same day I was at Wyevale, I did a quick check of the Kilvey Hill Cephaloziella calyculata colony, but failed to find anything resembling integerrima, the only only other Cephaloziella noted being divaricata. The colony was highly fertile, with male plants (photo) and gemmiferous shoots abundant (photo). Perianth development was, however, uniformly at a very rudimentary stage and well behind those of integerrima seen recently at Crofty. There are still plenty opportunities for exploring unsurveyed areas at this site - i.e. most of it!

The distinctively scented Lophozia bicrenata was found growing with Vezdaea retigera on mine spoil on Cadle Heath Common in Swansea on 21st Dec.

Lophozia ventricosa var. silvicola is occasional on Sphagnum papillosum on Cefn Bryn, 31st Dec. As reported by Sam in the Pembs Bryoflora, it seems this defunct, yet distinctive taxon is the default var. on Sphagnum in our area.

A good quantity of Marchantia polymorpha cf subsp. montivagans "Mountain Liverwort" was encountered mostly 'in stream' in a base-enriched runnel on Cefn Bryn, also on 31st Dec. The large thalli clearly lacked black midribs that characterise subsp. polymorpha, though were darkened a little, as shown by the example below, photographed in natural day light (it was almost dark by the time I got to this spot and to make things worst as I was walking back up the hill I realised I must have dropped my phone in the runnel - fortunately I did manage to find it before the light completely went, sitting amongst Montia in-stream, half soaked, but still working!). I failed to get to grips with the ventral scales of the Marchantia, but I will take another look before sending off a voucher for verification of this potential county first.

Blustery and bleak on the Blorenge

I had two targets on the colliery spoil between the Blorenge and Blaenavon and failed on both: Lophocolea bispinosa doesn't seem to have reached the eastern Valleys yet, and Buxbaumia aphylla was always going to be a long-shot :-)  The wind and drizzle didn't help.

Anyway, I made separate DAFOR lists for a heather/crowberry-dominated colliery tip face (21 spp including Lophozia ventricosa silvicola and Cephaloziella hampeana), and a much more open, parched tip top (6 spp), and also found some Lophozia bicrenata on the side of a gully between two tips.

 A short trip north to Cwm Ifor, where a stream has carved a narrow ravine at the junction of the Millstone Grit and Carboniferous Limestone, produced a completely different flora.  Neckera crispa was amazingly abundant and was fruiting copiously, and there were various other calcicoles including Scapania aspera and Jungermannia atrovirens, although I couldn't see any sign of several of the notable species I found in the ravine in 2000/2003.  An outcrop of Millstone Grit above the ravine held abundant Barbilophozia attenuata and there were a few patches of Sphagnum squarrosum in a flush. 

My entire 1.5 hour visit was spent in tetrad SO21K, which is one of the richest in VC35 with >200 species recorded.  I visited many times between 1999 and 2003, including with Graham and with the Border Bryologists, so it was nice to return to old haunts.  Perhaps surprisingly, given previous coverage, I added 11 species to the tetrad total, so the day was useful.