Glais horse pasture

A few indistinct (primarily acid) flush lines through this tightly grazed pasture provided some local interest, with species noted including Anagallis tenella, Dicranella rufescens, Entosthodon obtusus, Ephemerum serratum, Fossombronia wondraczekii, Pellia neesiana, Pohlia camptotrachela, Scapania irrigua & Wahlenbergia hederacea.

 P. camptotrachela & F. wondraczekii, with a little P. nitidum & E. serratum

 P. camptotrachela

 E. serratum

Delayed Fossombronia

I noticed a few bryophytes colonising the edge of a newly created pond at Graig farm near Llandovery in early December.  Everything was a bit mashed up by trampling sheep so I put some of the greening mud into a pot and then dried it to check later. I finally got round to looking at it today and on rehydration I was very pleased to find the battered remains of a Fossombronia.  Seems to be F.wondraczeckii, which is a new one for me.  Apparently several more ponds have been formed there since my December visit so there will be lots more mud to look at in future visits.  Hopefully I won't leave the specimens so long before checking them next time.

Afan Forest Park

The larch felling program of the last few years has resulted in a proliferation of new tracks in the Park, where heavy vehicle tires have created habitats for all sorts of earth mosses and liverworts. Dicranella varia is probably one of the most important pioneers in this habitat, but others include infuriating little Bryum spp., Achidium alternifolium, Dicranella schreberiana, Trichodon cylindricus, Pohlia annotina, Pohlia wahlenbergii, Pseudephemerum nitidum, Fossombronia spp. and Riccia subbifurca (now recorded from two separate forest tetrads).

Pseudephemerum nitidum, Afan Forest Park

Fossombronia wondraczeckii, Afan Forest Park

Fossombronia wondraczeckii spores

Riccia subbifurca, Afan Forest Park

Fossombronia wondraczekii

I was looking forward to ending a long hiatus on the blog with this post, but was delighted to see three other recent posts. It must be autumn!

I haven't done any serious bryo recording since the spring, but was pleased to see a healthy patch of Fossombronia on a wet, acidic cattle track on Pengwern Common (Gower) last Friday. This proved to be F. wondraczekii, which would perhaps have been the most likely species in this habitat - but it's a new one for me.