26 FieldBryology No111 | May14 27 Article C eratadon conicus (Hampe) Lindb. was first found in Britain at Duston in August 1884 by H.N. Dixon. Since then it has been found in the belt of limestone that runs NE from North Somerset across Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and beyond. It was more abundant in Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire although never common. Approximately 70 records have been made by a limited number of bryologists with 43 of these being attributed to H.N. Dixon, H.H. Knight and in more recent times Eustace Jones. Most of the later records were by Eustace Jones in Oxfordshire between 1946 and 1990, where it was last seen, discussed by Ron Porley (2013). It is a species of mud capped walls produced in the days of the horse and accompanied by other rarities such as Pterygoneuron lamellatum and P. ovatum which have similarly declined or disappeared. It is also known from paths and FieldBryology No111 | May14 Ceratodon conicus: Scarce Redshank or Common Patio Moss? Having found the first British record of this moss since 1990, Peter Martin tells us where to look for C. conicus and how to distinguish this species from C. purpureus Lamplighters Nature Reserve e reserve of 20 acres is located at Shirehampton in Bristol, overlooked at one end by the M5 and stretching along in a narrow belt between the railway line on one side and the River Avon on the other (Fig. 2). e area was formerly used as railway sidings and subsequently as a base for a construction site when the M5 was being built and then again when widening work was carried out. In Fig. 3 the gravel area in view was used for car parking and the concrete bases accommodated a crane gantry used to assemble pre-fabricated stiffened panels into the box sections which ultimately comprise the bridge spans. ese concrete bases would have been exposed throughout the construction period (from 1969 to 1974 when the bridge was opened). e crane gantry was then removed from the bases during the first half of 1974. e reserve, particularly near the western end (Fig. 3) is known for locally notable higher plants such as Moth Mullein (Verbascum blattaria), Distant Sedge (Carex distans) and Viper’s Bugloss (Echium vulgare), and it is here on the concrete bases where C. conicus grows. It is most common quarry floors. Its decline is clearly seen in the series of open circles denoting old records in the 1992 Atlas (Hill et al., 1992). It would appear that most of these records are unlikely to be re- found following the loss of the mud capped walls. In Gloucestershire H.H. Knight was responsible for all but one record in 5 sites between 1911 and 1914; the other was from Cliff Townsend in Cheltenham in 1958. In 2010, Justin Smith organised a bryology meeting at the Lamplighters Nature Reserve in Bristol, where I collected a specimen of Ceratadon that superficially looked like C. conicus. Despite Tom Blockeel agreeing it was a possibility for that species, no fruit was found on the day or subsequent visits to prove it one way or the other. In 2012 David Bell working at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, examined the specimen in terms of comparative DNA analysis with C. purpureus and concluded the specimen was C. conicus (Bell, Long & Holligsworth, 2013) making it the only British record since 1990 and Lamplighters Nature Reserve the only British locality where plants are now known (Fig. 2). vRight top, Fig. 1: Ceratodon conicus showing leaves with excurrent hair point growing with Didymodon spp. Right bottom, Fig. 2: Lamplighters Marsh Nature reserve showing concrete bases. is page above, Fig. 3: Concrete bases supporting C. conicus (M5 view). P Martin
Transcript
26 FieldBryology No111 | May14 27
Article
Ceratadon conicus (Hampe) Lindb. was first found in Britain at Duston in August 1884 by H.N. Dixon. Since
then it has been found in the belt of limestone that runs NE from North Somerset across Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and beyond. It was more abundant in Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire although never common. Approximately 70 records have been made by a limited number of bryologists with 43 of these
being attributed to H.N. Dixon, H.H. Knight and in more recent times Eustace Jones. Most of the later records were by Eustace Jones in Oxfordshire between 1946 and 1990, where it was last seen, discussed by Ron Porley (2013). It is a species of mud capped walls produced in the days of the horse and accompanied by other rarities such as Pterygoneuron lamellatum and P. ovatum which have similarly declined or disappeared. It is also known from paths and
FieldBryology No111 | May14
Ceratodon conicus: Scarce Redshank or Common Patio Moss? Having found the first British record of this moss since 1990, Peter Martin tells us where to look for C. conicus and how to distinguish this species from C. purpureus
Lamplighters Nature ReserveThe reserve of 20 acres is located at Shirehampton in Bristol, overlooked at one end by the M5 and stretching along in a narrow belt between the railway line on one side and the River Avon on the other (Fig. 2). The area was formerly used as railway sidings and subsequently as a base for a construction site when the M5 was being built and then again when widening work was carried out. In Fig. 3 the gravel area in view was used for car parking and the concrete bases accommodated a crane gantry used to assemble pre-fabricated stiffened panels into the box sections which ultimately comprise the bridge spans. These concrete bases would have been exposed throughout the construction period (from 1969 to 1974 when the bridge was opened). The crane gantry was then removed from the bases during the first half of 1974. The reserve, particularly near the western end (Fig. 3) is known for locally notable higher plants such as Moth Mullein (Verbascum blattaria), Distant Sedge (Carex distans) and Viper’s Bugloss (Echium vulgare), and it is here on the concrete bases where C. conicus grows. It is most common
quarry floors. Its decline is clearly seen in the series of open circles denoting old records in the 1992 Atlas (Hill et al., 1992). It would appear that most of these records are unlikely to be re-found following the loss of the mud capped walls. In Gloucestershire H.H. Knight was responsible for all but one record in 5 sites between 1911 and 1914; the other was from Cliff Townsend in Cheltenham in 1958. In 2010, Justin Smith organised a bryology meeting at the Lamplighters Nature Reserve in Bristol, where I collected a specimen of Ceratadon that superficially looked like C. conicus. Despite Tom Blockeel agreeing it was a possibility for that species, no fruit was found on the day or subsequent visits to prove it one way or the other. In 2012 David Bell working at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, examined the specimen in terms of comparative DNA analysis with C. purpureus and concluded the specimen was C. conicus (Bell, Long & Holligsworth, 2013)making it the only British record since 1990 and Lamplighters Nature Reserve the only British locality where plants are now known (Fig. 2).
vRight top, Fig. 1: Ceratodon conicus showing leaves with excurrent hair point growing with Didymodon spp. Right bottom, Fig. 2: Lamplighters Marsh Nature reserve showing concrete bases. This page above, Fig. 3: Concrete bases supporting C. conicus (M5 view). P Martin
Brachythecium albicans and Homalothecium lutescens. A small amount of Ceratadon purpureus is also recorded at the site.
Nomenclature of C. conicus since 1887The two species have traditionally been distinguished by leaf shape (Fig. 4a/ 4b), the form and inclination of the capsule (inclined in C. conicus and erect in C. purpureus) and that C. conicus is calcicole and C. purpureus calcifuge. Braithwaite (1880-1887) wrote that C. conicus was rare, known from walls and waste ground, and “not infrequent” on the south coast as it had
on the edges of the large moss dominated areas where the overlying soil is thinnest. Moving inwards, as the soil becomes increasingly thicker, C. concicus gradually disappears with only a few scattered shoots. The large colonies by the edge are closely associated with Didymodon luridus and Didymodon insulanus with small amounts of Syntrichia ruralis and S. ruraliformis (new to vc34 on our original visit), Bryum capillare, Pseudocrossidium hornschuchianum, Barbula convoluta and Barbula sardoa. The inner areas where the thicker soil layer promotes Sedum has extensive patches of Syntrichia ruralis,
a c
b d
of the Moss Flora (Smith, 2003) this work had been done by Burley & Pritchard (1990). Burley & Pritchard’s cosmopolitan work on the genus Ceratadon reinstated C. conicus to specific rank based on a number of characters: stem length, leaf, nerve, capsule, peristome details, spores, plant and peristome colour, leaf insertion and nerve cross section.
Identification of sterile materialComparing typical material of C. conicus and C. purpureus, shows notable differences in leaf shape, with C. conicus having an excurrent nerve
probably been overlooked in the absence of fruit. Dixon (1896) treated C. conicus as a sub-species, examining many specimens at the time and was not convinced it should rank higher than sub-species because of plants with intermediate characters. Of barren specimens he said: “..may be generally recognised with the eye alone, by the denser, neater tufts, with the shorter, aristate, upper leaves forming a comal tuft.” Smith (1978) records C. conicus as C. purpureus subsp. conicus and thought that the relationship between the two sub-species required further investigation. By the time of the second edition
v Fig. 4, top row: Ceratodon conicus. Bottom row: Ceratodon purpureus. a, b. Note the strong excurrent never in C. conicus (a) compared with C. purpureus (b). c, d. Comparison of nerve cross section - note the 1 layer of stereid cells in C. conicus (c) while in C. purpureus there are 2 (d). e, f. Differences in stem cross section. In C. conicus the single outer layer comprises large, thin-walled cells (e), while in C. purpureus the outerlayer is two cells thick and consists of smaller, thick-walled cells (f ). P Martin
might be discovered in similar Brownfield sites and perhaps it would do no harm, if you are in possession of a neglected patio, to give it a second look.
AcknowledgementsMany thanks to Justin Smith* (Bristol City Council Woodland and Wildlife officer), Peter Insole (Bristol City Archaeologist), Judy Helme (local historian) and David Aitkin (Mabey Bridge Limited) for information and Len Ellis and Silvia Pressel for making improvements to the text.
ReferencesBell, D., Long, D. & Hollingsworth, P. (2013) The use of
DNA barcoding to address major taxonomic problems for rare British bryophytes. Final report. Unpublished report. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Braithwaite, R. (1880-1887) The British moss-flora. London: L. Reeve & Co.
Bristol City Council Lamplighters Marsh Management Plan 2014-2019.
Burley, J.S. & Pritchard, N.M. (1990) Revision of the genus Ceratadon (Bryophyta). Harvard Papers in Botany 2: 17-76.
Hill, M.O., Preston, C.D. & Smith, A.J.E. (1992) Atlas of the bryophytes of Britain and Ireland volume 2. Colchester: Harley Books.
Porley, R.D. (2013) England’s rare mosses and liverworts: their history, ecology and conservation. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Smith, A.J.E. (1978) The moss flora of Britain and Ireland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Smith, A.J.E. (2003) The moss flora of Britain and Ireland 2nd Ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Peter Martin60 West Street, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, GL8 8DR. e [email protected]
*Sadly, Justin Smith passed away in March 2014.
(Fig. 4a/4b). The cross section of nerves are different with C. purpureus showing 2 layers of stereid cells whereas C. conicus has only 1 (Fig. 4c/4d). These differences were not considered significant enough by Burley & Pritchard who state: “ The angle of insertion of the leaves on the stem, their response to drying and the appearance of the nerve in cross section are useful diagnostic characters in sterile material. However, it is not possible to separate C. conicus from C. purpureus with confidence on the basis of gametophyte characters alone.” The plants of C. conicus at Bristol appear distinctive though confusion might be possible with the variable C. purpureus. I have compared the specimen of C. conicus from Lamplighters with a few specimens of C. purpureus. The photographs of C. purpureus shown here are from a specimen collected in February 2014 at Troopers Hill, Hanham, Bristol. C. conicus, from the Lamplighters specimen, appears to differ from C. purpureus in that the laminal cells are frequently longer than wide in mid-leaf whereas in C. purpureus the mid-leaf cells are mostly quadrate or even wider than long (Fig. 4a/4b). Looking at the sections of the stems, C. conicus has an outer single layer of larger thin walled cells in comparison to the smaller thick walled 2 layers of cells in C. purpureus (Fig.4e/4f ). It should be stressed that this is only based on examination of the single specimen of C. conicus with 6 specimens of C. purpureus and needs confirming with more specimens of C. conicus. ConclusionIt will be interesting to see if further records of C. conicus appear. I doubt that C. conicus will make the leap Didymodon nicholsonii made from riparian rarity to something people brush off their tarmac drives, but this remarkable plant is here recorded in an unremarkable habitat. It
Article
The mycologically definitive “Ainsworth and Bisby’s Dictionary of the Fungi” (Kirk et al., 2008) tell us that bryophilous
fungi “seem to be a very frequent, universal phenomenon” and that they are “generally totally neglected, despite their number and frequency”. Having enjoyed finding and doing some simple experiments with fungi on lichens around our house near Oswestry (Preece, 2011; 2013) and spurred on by the notion that moss fungi are common, I decided to search for these near our house and in the nearby Nature Reserve. After 2 years of drawing a blank, Sam Bosanquet helped me by loaning me a lot of papers by Döbbler about bryophilous fungi. Döbbler has drawings of many moss fungi, in particular ascomycetes. These are usually incredibly small (1.0 to 1.5mm or less) and on a near single leaves of mosses. In an important paper he writes (Döbbler, 2002) “very few bryophilous fungi are ever detectable in the field” and states in several others that large quantities of mosses should be carefully examined using a stereomicroscope. I am now continuing to search as he suggests. Since BBS members examine vast numbers of mosses, it must be that these universally occurring fungi are very difficult to see, and this accounts for the rare finds reported in Field Bryology (Fisk, 2000; Bosanquet, 2007). However, I had a surprise on January 1st 2002, looking at a mixture of Didymodon rigidulus and Scleropodium cespitans growing on an unusually damp set of paving stones under our north-facing bedroom window, I saw a quantity of what looked like fine pure white dust. Microscopy quickly showed this was a fungus, many individuals cup-shaped,
not an ascomycete, but plenty of very small basidiospores. Sent to Kew, Martyn Ainsworth indentified it as Rimbachia necherae, a rare cyphelloid and clamped basidiomycete, and pointed out that Shropshire is one of two English counties in which this fungus has been found – in 1976. There are very few other records (Herefordshire, 1965; Glamorganshire, 2000; two records from West Sutherland, 2003 and 2005). You too may find it. Look out for “white dust” or tiny white crumbs! My material is at Kew: K(M)17374.
Acknowledgments. I wish to thank Martyn Ainsworth for his prompt work; Sam Bosanquet for confirming my shaky moss identifications and help with reprints; and Ceridwen Stringer for the typing. The editors are grateful to Leandro Sanchez for providing the image.
ReferencesBosanquet, SDS (2007) Epibryum plagiochilae in South Wales:
an overlooked British bryophilous fungus. Field Bryology 91: 24-25.
Döbbler P. (2002) Microniches occupied by bryophilous ascomycetes. Nova Hedwigia 75: 275-306.
Kirk PM, Cannon PF, David JC, Stalpers JA (eds) (2008) Ainsworth & Bisby’s dictionary of the fungi. 10th edition. Wallingford: CABI Publishing.
Fisk, R.J. (2000) An interesting pyrenomycete growing on Ceratodon purpureus. Field Bryology 74: 41.
Preece, T.F. (2011) Another lichenicolous fungus you can look out for; Illosporiopsis christiansenii. Bulletin of the British Lichen Society 10: 38-41.
Preece, T.F. (2013) Xanthoriicola physciae – a puzzling black lichenicolous fungus. Field Mycology 14: 14-16.
Tom Preece ‘Kinton’, Turners lane, Llynclys Hill, Shropshire, SY10 8LL
rRimbachia necherae. L Sanchez (https://www.flickr.com/photos/leandro_snchz)
Rimbachia necherae: a rare moss fungus Tom Preece relates his encounter with a bryophilous fungus
Ceratodon conicus: Scarce Redshank or Common Patio Moss?
