Penrice query

Some pics of the putative Entosthodon growing with the Fissidens crispus (see comments in previous post).

Left, the largest shoot I could find, but most were more the size of the smaller
shoot, these bearing a superficial resemblance to Epipterygium

Herzog's Pocket-moss at Penrice

note larger shoots of F. incurvus top right

I came across a lovely little colony of Fissidens crispus (=limbatus) comprising hundreds of fruiting plants on the shaded lane bank as you head down the hill from the village towards the estate (SS49208792). The main direct associates on the near-vertical bank were F. incurvus & Oxyrrhychium pumilum, the very long perichaetial leaves drawing attention to this tiny Fissidens, in which the shoots were just over 2mm long (left photo below, 8 units=2mm; right photo shows the small protruberant cells).

Cavernous Crytalwort

Spent a very windy, sand-blasted morning with Barry and Becky Sharp (NPT Wildlife Team) looking at  Margam Tip, a very biodiverse site and a fascinating example of sand dune remediation. During a whistle-stop tour of the open mosaic perimeter of the steelworks, we stopped to look at a wet sandy area with Ranunculus trichophyllus,  Juncus ranarius (= J. ambiguus) and Plantago coronopus, typical species of damp, brackish sand. I just happened to say 'this looks like a good place for Riccia cavernosa' before Barry exclaimed 'yes, and here it is'. There were approximately 500 individuals in an area of about 100 square meters.

Unfortunately this particular site will undergo development which will almost certainly result in the loss of this population. However, we are hopeful that habitat creation elsewhere will provide suitable habitat for it; i.e. wet, base-rich, sandy mud which is subject to winter flooding. Some inoculation may help. The occurrence of associates like R. trichophyllus, J. ranarius and P. coronopus seems to indicate the suitability of these habitats for this exquisite liverwort. There's something quite special about Crystalworts.

Waungron, Grovesend

I found some Didymodon fallax in fruit during this morning's Alfie-time, at a small coal spoil site (SN599020) near home that has long been overgrown with dense mat of Calliergonella cuspidata. The fruiting plants, found growing on a crust of soil on a mound of broken concrete (photo below), had leaves considerably more recurved than the bulk of plants noted elsewhere at the site. Although the leaves and reddish colour of the lower leaves suggested ferrugineus (a species for which capsules are unrecorded in Britain), closer examination confirmed it was indeed just fallax. Elongate cells on the adaxial side of the costa ruled out insulanus, although I must confess these cells weren't as defined as illustrated (photo below).

There were no species of any real note, but Syntrichia ruralis ssp. ruraliformis and fruiting Dicranella varia provided some local interest.

Afon Tawe at Glais

Fruiting Schistidium platyphyllum showing the short perichaetial leaves; good patches noted growing on the large Limestone boulders on the left hand bank of the river just downstream of the bridge.

Foel Fynyddau

There's a nice 3 mile mossy walk along a forestry track from Pontrhydyfen to the top of Foel Fynyddau, one of the highest points in the lower Afan Valley - this is the forestry track which has the population of Distichium inclinatum, which I've mentioned before. Much of the hill is clothed in pine forests with Scots Pine, Lodgepole Pine and Macedonian Pine, but there's also a fair amount of Sessile Oak woodland there too. Luxuriant banks of bryophytes line the route and there's lots of Scapania irrigua in the hepatic mats along the damp, gritty edges of the track. This is one of the species that scores highly in Sam's Carmarthen forestry track list. On Foel Fynyddau it grows with Jungermannia gracillima, Nardia scalaris and occasional Riccardia multifida.

Scapania irrigua, Foel Fynyddau

About 2 miles up the track there are some old log piles at the side of the track, which I presume are pine. Some are plastered in bryophytes with Nowellia curvifolia and Tetraphis pellucida.

 Log pile covered in bryophytes, Foel Fynyddau

On some piles we noted several patches of Riccardia palmata (the conspicuous, darker green patches in the photo above), which is a nice record for the Afan valley. It is found in a similar habitat in Crynant Forest, but it seems to be rather scarce in NPT despite the abundance of suitable habitat. 

Riccardia palmata, Foel Fynyddau

Other things of note along this route include abundant Dryopteris cambrensis and the only population of Tricholoma equestre (Yellow Knight) that I've ever seen in Wales (see recent post on Gower Wildlife blog).

Scratching around in ST27

While the rest of you have been recording exciting bryophytes out in the west, spare a thought for your poor comrade in the east. I've not had a great deal of time for square bashing in recent weeks but have made a few short visits to the Glamorgan part of ST27, and it has been hard work.

ST27D, locate to the north of Cardiff docks, has been particularly tough. There is lots of wasteground vegetation in this tetrad and it has proved interesting for dockland aliens (including Senecio inaequidens and Lepidium graminifolium) and micro-moths, but not so for bryophytes. It is a dry area and almost lacking in woodland, so many common species are missing (or just missed by me). I've only recorded 35 taxa here...I'm sure there will be others, but it is probably not the best use of my time scratching around trying to find them. The only records just about worth mentioning are Brachythecium mildeanum and Dicranella schreberiana.

ST27E was better largely thanks to the Howardian Local Nature Reserve, which has some wetland areas as well as pockets of boradleaved woodland. Around 55 taxa were recorded last Sunday morning, the highlights being Marchantia polymorpha ssp. polymorpha and Oxyrrhynchium speciosum growing together beneath Phragmites.

Marchantia polymorpha ssp. polymorpha

Elsewhere on the site was this patch of Leskea polycarpa on an ash bough away from water, though the surrounding tall herb vegetation might hold standing water in the winter.

Leskea polycarpa