Coed Ty Canol

Cynodontium jenneri ledge

I've been doing some bryophyte survey for NRW in Ty Canol NNR and the Gwaun Valley. I've not had much luck trying to re-find old records of more notable species such as Harpanthus scutatus and Scapania umbrosa - they don't come with grid references and there are a lot of boulders to look at. Cyndontium jenneri was I think the first record south of the Dyfi though, on an overhung ledge on an otherwise dry, acidic and dull crag. I collected it on the off-chance it was something more interesting than Cynodontium bruntonii, and was surprised to find that it was unistratose in section and with smooth cells. Sharon Pilkington confirmed the ID - it must be out there on more wooded crags in west Wales.

Other than that, the wood is dripping with mosses and liverworts of the attractive but not particularly rare variety, such as Bazzania trilobata and Plagiochila spinulosa. Tritomaria quinquedentata was one of the few other additions to the site list - it was dominant on just a single flat-topped rock on the woodland floor.

Bazzania trilobata