Blackrock Quarry

On Sunday I helped out at a habitat management work party at Blackrock Quarry, just north of the A465 near the Clydach Gorge. I only had time for a quick poke about at the base of the limestone quarry face near where I was working, but I was pleased to see plenty of Gymnostomum viridulum growing on soil in crevices - a new species for me. Under the microscope it was good to see numerous multicellular gemmae in the leaf axils.

In the same habitat, and probably of greater interest, was what I think is one of the bryoparasitic ascomycetes which Sam brought to our attention recently. A single orange apothecium caught my eye among a patch of Trichostomum crispulum (I managed to break it in two during collection - see photo below). Microscopic inspection revealed the spore structure nicely (photos below) but I have failed to key it out satisfactorily using the German website. The apothecium was large by the standards of this group, with a diameter of 5mm. No species are listed on the website as parasitic on Trichostomum, though some use the related Tortella and Weissia.

 

Any thoughts welcome. Also, I'm not sure how best to preserve it for future examination!

A quarry at Stormy Down

A survey of one of the Limestone quarries at Stormy Down proved to be reasonably productive today. The Weissia-like acrocarp shown below has me puzzled though: The leaf margins are largely plane, though a few are slightly in-rolled towards the tips; the leaves become in-rolled and very crisped on drying; some patches produce abundant, long, reddish, slightly wavy setae with un-inflated capsules in early development; the leaf cells are papillose and the basal cells are larger and hyaline; the strong orangey-tinged costa ends just below the leaf tip; grows as somewhat loose, sometimes extensive patches, growing along with Leiocolea badensis, Dicranella varia and Didymodon fallax, all of which were locally abundant and characterised the damp, clayey, lime-rich soil on the quarry floor. Other frequent calcicoles noted included Aliona aloides, Aneura pinguis, Trichostomum crispulum and Gymnostomum viridulum, the latter being remarkably abundant on the soil slopes all around the lower edges of the quarry walls. A few patches of Preissia quadrata were also noted on the quarry floor.

Below left; Patches of  Leiocolea badensis frequent on the quarry floor. Below right; Gymnostomum viridulum frequent on slopes all around the edges of the quarry floor.

Below; Gymnostomum viridulum, Sedum sexangulare (doing well!) and Preissia quadrata.