My second day of tetrad recording this weekend took me to the area NE of Abergavenny, where I filled in 2.5 tetrads. Each one held species of note, although it was hard work in general. Highlight in the first, SO31P, was Scleropodium touretii on a S-facing lane bank (photo below). There are only 8 known sites for this species in VC35, none of which are in this habitat. Bryum donianum was also there, as was the inevitable Eurhynchium schleicheri. The lanes were pretty good, but fields were rather improved and access to interesting habitats was very difficult, so my final tally was just 55 species.
The half tetrad was SO31X, where I had already recorded 30+ species in the early 2000s. Scleropodium cespitans was abundant on silty Alders by the Trothy. The final tetrad was SO31W, which was even duller than the first of the day, but likewise held some notable mosses on a lane bank. Epipterygium tozeri seemed surprising, as there are only 30 county records, but checking my database revealed I saw it in the adjacent SO31V in 2006. Bryum donianum was here too.
