THE CONTEMPORARY BRYOLOGICAL SCENE IN WORCESTERSHIRE
Mark Lawley
The British Bryological Society's week-long meeting in
Worcestershire in April 2004 presents a fine opportunity for
local naturalists to develop their understanding of mosses and
liverworts. Much remains to be discovered about Worcestershire's
bryoflora, which has been unjustly neglected since the days of J.B.
Duncan in the first quarter of the 20th century.
In consequence, Team Worcestershire's reconnoitring excursions
during the last year or so to sites ear-marked for exploration by
the BBS in 2004 have turned up a number of species not seen in
the county for many years, as well as others which had never been
vouchered for vc 37.
Last winter, calcareous rock and soil on the north scarp of
Bredon Hill produced Didymodon ferrugineus, Microbryum rectum,
Tortella tortuosa and Scapania aspera new to the county. From
more acidic substrates on the Malvern Hills, Joy Ricketts found
Buxbaumia aphylla - a strange and very scarce moss with no
leaves, which can therefore only be found when its large, lop-sided
capsules develop in winter. Lorna Fraser found the uncommon
Hedwigia ciliata, only recently distinguished from the commoner H.
stellata, and Schistostega pennata also turned up, an iridescent
moss which lines the earthen walls of disused rabbit-burrows on
the Malverns, just as it does on the Long Mynd in Shropshire.
Grimmia laevigata keeps company with Pterogonium gracile on
Hangman's Hill, and Scleropodium tourettii adorns a disused
quarry near Whiteleaved Oak. On Castlemorton Common Ann Hill
collected Climacium dendroides from wet ground in a coppice. This
distinctive moss has an unusually upright habit, just like a tree
- hence its specific name. Nearby on the trunk of a hawthorn tree
Rita Holmes discovered Microlejeunea ulicina, a minute liverwort
with the delightful English name of Fairy Beads.
Several sites along the Teme Valley have attested bryodiversity.
Thuidium philibertii grows among grass on Penny Hill, with
Ditrichum gracile, Trichostomum crispulum and Weissia longifolia
var. angustifolia in the disused quarry nearby. Crews Hill gave
us Campylophyllum calcareum and Wissett's Wood near Mamble has
Platygyrium repens, an epiphytic moss which looks just like
Hypnum resupinatum except for prominent spiky clusters of
propagules at the tips of its shoots, as well as a minute
epiphytic liverwort called Cololejeunea minutissima. Both these
species appear to be spreading across southern England. Indeed,
like the epiphytic moss Ulota phyllantha, Cololejeunea
minutissima was mainly coastal until a few years ago. The
liverworts Lejeunea cavifolia and Nowellia curvifolia live in
Hanley Dingle (the Nowellia is another species extending its
distribution), and Eurhynchium schleicheri and Plagiochila
britannica like the shallow soil enriched by underlying tufa at
Southstone Rock.
Wyre Forest seldom disappoints, and recent visits revealed the
mosses Leucobryum juniperoideum and Sphagnum inundatum, plus the
liverworts Lejeunea lamacerina and Trichocolea tomentella.
Other sites in the county have also produced interesting records,
most notably Harry Green's discovery of the Red Data Book
liverwort Sphaerocarpos texanus on sandy soil in a field of
rhubarb near Holt Fleet. S. texanus forms a pale green blob which
looks as if it might have recently touched down from outer space,
and can only be distinguished from its slightly commoner congener
S. michelii by examining the size and papillosity of alveoli on
the surface of its spores. Fortunately Harry's gathering was
mature, and I understand he intends to dine out in bryological
circles for some time to come on the back of this fine record.
With a recently revitalised local interest in bryology, and a
deluge of further discoveries sure to materialise when the cream
of cryptogamists visit the county next year, it seems regrettable
that our changing perceptions of Worcestershire's bryoflora
cannot be incorporated in the planned Flora of Worcestershire. To
be sure, we still have much to learn about the occurrences and
distributions of bryophytes in the county, but all the best
regional Floras now include cryptogams.
Moreover, evidence of large gaps in our understanding is a
powerful reason for publishing what we do know about
Worcestershire's bryophytes rather than staying silent on the
subject, for there can be no more certain stimulus to further
exploration and discovery than a readily available summary of
what has been found where.
I append a list of species which have been recorded and vouchered
for vc 37 before 1950 but not more recently and for which modern
vouchers are therefore required, followed by a more speculative
list of species which have never been vouchered but are likely to
occur somewhere in the county. It will be interesting to see how
many species can be excused from these lists after April 2004. Do
come and join the hunt.
When viewing these tables,
please ensure that your page width is sufficient to prevent the
names taking up more than one line, otherwise the names will not
match.
| Species which were recorded and vouchered for vc 37 before 1950, but have not been vouchered since, and for which modern vouchers are therefore required. | ||
| CURRENT LATIN NAME | PREVIOUS LATIN NAME | |
| LIVERWORTS AND HORNWORTS Anthoceros
agrestis |
Anthoceros agrestis |
Field Hornwort |
When viewing these tables, please ensure that your page width is sufficient to prevent the names taking up more than one line, otherwise the names will not match.
| Species which have never been vouchered for vc 37, and are worth looking for. | ||
| CURRENT LATIN NAME | PREVIOUS LATIN NAME | |
| LIVERWORTS AND HORNWORTS Phaeoceros
laevis |
Phaeoceros laevis ssp. laevis |
Smooth Hornwort |
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