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with the odd stream as well as the more usual woodland habitats so we were a content, if very soggy, team who dispersed that afternoon. Although during our outings we don’t tend to find the rarities often associated with more conventional BBS meetings, even so I can strongly recommend BRECOG work to novices and improvers as concentration on identifying the species in your quadrats is a sure way of learning all of the common plants in your area as well as getting to grips with new things when you visit places outside your comfort zone. Keep an eye on the “Forthcoming Meetings” page of the BBS website for details of the 2014 meeting – at the moment we are looking at Anglesey.

Martin F Godfreye. martinandrosie@aol.com

rAbove: Lucia Ruffino, Martin Godfrey and Joyce Bates in a flush community. Martin Godfrey

sBelow: Cameron Fleetwood records stream bryophytes at Pont Gethyn. Martin Godfrey

After the long coach journey from London we spent a couple of hours on Saturday afternoon on the rocky knoll of Y Pincin near Capel Curig learning the commoner local bryophytes. This meant that at least some species were already familiar on Sunday’s loop walk from the Swallow Falls Youth Hostel to Miner’s Bridge, up to a lead mine near Llyn Pencraig, along the cliffs opposite the Hostel and then back via The Ugly House. The Afon Llugwy valley held many species of interest to the non-British bryologists such as Bazzania trilobata, Calypogeia arguta, Plagiochila spinulosa, Saccogyna viticulosa, Scapania gracilis and Trichocolea tomentella. Miner’s Bridge was a smorgasbord of Lejeuneaceae, with Aphanolejeunea microscopica, Colura calyptrifolia, Drepanolejeunea hamatifolia and Harpalejeunea molleri, rounded off later with Marchesinia mackaii on the cliffs. The lead mine’s Ditrichum plumbicola was rare and very small, and the same could be said of a colony of Glyphomitrium daviesii we passed on the walk, which everybody queued up to see, photograph and not collect.

Following the week long International Association of Bryologists (IAB) conference at the Natural History

Museum, we spent six days exploring the diverse bryophyte habitats around Betws-y-coed in eastern Snowdonia. The trip was organised by Jo Wilbraham and Silvia Pressel and led by Sam Bosanquet and Jeff Duckett. The 13 visitors were Alison Downing and Pina Milne (Australia); Yuxia Lou, Wei Sha and Tianyi Ma (China); Angela Ares (Spain); Olubukunola Oyesiku (Nigeria); Lars Soderström (Norway); Janice Glime (USA); and Jill Kowal, Ria Mitchell and Mari Whitelaw (England). Malcolm Watling joined us on most days, Des Callaghan came to the Afon Llugwy, and Tim Blackstock and Alex Turner were with us on Snowdon. Hywel Roberts (Snowdon & Cwm Idwal), Rhodri Dafydd (Morfa Harlech) and Doug Oliver (Coed y Rhygen) shared their knowledge and love of the Natural Nature Reserves that they look after. The group stayed in the Youth Hostel at Swallow Falls.

MeetingReport

IAB Field Meeting 20th-25th July 2013Sam Bosanquet reports on the IAB post-conference field excursion in Betws-y-Coed, North Wales

r Group photo: searching for bryophytes in the beautiful surrounding of Cwm Glas Mawr. Ria Mitchell

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ornithopodioides and S. cuspiduligera near Twll Du and Sam spotted two tufts of Dicranoweisia crispula, new to the cwm. One of Wales’ best bryological spectacles was saved for our final day: a morning in Coed y Rhygen with NNR warden Doug Oliver. There had been some overnight rain, so the copious cushions of Adelanthus decipiens, Bazzania trilobata, Lepidozia cupressina and Plagiochila spinulosa were looking their best. Plagiochila punctata and P. exigua were seen on many tree trunks, and Leptoscyphus cuneifolius was located on at least seven trees by Jeff, Lars and Sam, doubling the number of colonies known on the NNR and almost doubling the entire known Welsh population. Jeff also found Drepanolejeunea hamatifolia new to the NNR,

Snowdon speciality S. brevifolia. Small scraps were collected from the substantial colonies and to everyone’s disappointment their setae went curved on wetting up, so they were just S. recurvata. The steep climb into Cwm Uchaf split the group for a while, but most of us reconvened near Llyn Glas where Sam spotted a single plant of Haplomitrium hookeri. The plethora of interesting bryophytes on the crags and boulders above and below the lake included Anthelia juratzkana, Antitrichia curtipendula, Eremonotus myriocarpos, Herbertus stramineus, H. hutchinsiae, Orthothecium rufescens, O. intricatum, Radula aquilegia, Tetrodontium brownianum and, for Sam and Olu, some real S. brevifolia. A day at the seaside was suggested as a break from mountain climbing, although picking our way among saltmarsh creeks near Penrhydeudraeth and baking on the dunes of Morfa Harlech seemed like scant rest. The day started and ended with failures despite pin-point location details: no Bryum marratii was found by the Glaslyn Estuary and no Petalophyllum ralfsii was seen in dried-out slacks at Morfa Harlech. Nevertheless, a spectacular colony of Fissidens polyphyllus will live long in the memory, as will Jeff’s attempts to climb into Harlech Castle in search of Targionia hypophylla. The well-made path around Llyn Idwal

Armed with a search image for G l y p h o m i t r i u m we joked about rediscovering it the following day in Cwm Glas Mawr, where it was last seen in 1837. To everyone’s surprise we located a strong colony on four tuff boulders, found because of our leisurely pace admiring species such as Andreaea alpina, Gymnomitrion c r e n u l a t u m , R a c o m i t r i u m sudeticum and Tortella bambergeri; most bryologists would hurry up through the lower cwm to the richer high ground. Nearby, we noticed several patches of a Seligeria, again on tuff boulders, which we hoped would be the

meant that everyone was able to look there for Haplomitrium hookeri, including Janice who was keen to photograph this iconic liverwort for her on-line book. Silvia found us a good-sized population, by Haplomitrium standards, with 20 or so patches. Lakeside rocks supported Grimmia curvata, G. funalis and Pterogonium gracile, but hopeful G. anomala proved just to be G. hartmanii. After this leisurely morning most of the group made a rapid ascent to Twll Du (the Devil’s Kitchen), where base-rich rocks held Grimmia torquata, Herbertus stramineus, Hypnum hamulosum, Leiocolea fitzgeraldiae, Molendoa warburgii, Plagiochila exigua and Radula aquilegia, and the massive boulder jumble supported Encalypta ciliata and Metzgeria leptoneura. Jeff located patches of Scapania

rAbove left to right: a rather confusing Seligeria recurvata with dried straight setae, Cwm Glas Mawr; Orthothecium rufescens near Llyn Glas; a rather spectacular Fissidens polyphyllus. Jeff Duckett/Jo Wilbraham sBelow left to right: our group, defeated by Bryum marratii but soon to be reinvigorated by the sight of F. polyphyllus; Encalypta ciliata, among the massive boulders of Twll Du. Silvia Pressel

vLeft, top to bottom: Marchesinia mackaii on the cliffs opposite our hostel; the not so elusive Glyphomitrium daviesii; looking for Haplomitrium at Llyn Idwal; Haplomitrium hookeri duly immortalized by Janice; rAbove: Sam and Olu at Llyn Glas. Silvia Pressel/Jeff Duckett/Janice Glime

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specimens of all of the commoner species were collected for the herbaria at Melbourne, Shanghai and Olabisi Onabanjo. Olu’s specimens must represent one of the most diverse collections of European bryophytes in Nigeria! Detailed recording was not a primary aim, but Sam made sure that lists were made for precise locations: all 630 records were accurate to 6-figure Grid Reference level. These are important data because many of Snowdonia’s rarer species have only been recorded to the precision of a cwm, crag or even 10 km square, making relocation or monitoring difficult. We hope that a BBS summer meeting in Snowdonia in 2015 will continue this work, by localising notable species as precisely as possible in as many cwms as the group can visit. Despite the focus on demonstrating common species, new localities were found during the IAB meeting for Colura calyptrifolia (Afon Llugwy), Glyphomitrium daviesii, Haplomitrium hookeri and Radula aquilegia (Cwm Glas Mawr), Dicranoweisia crispula (Twll Du) and Drepanolejeunea hamatifolia (Coed y Rhygen).

Sam Bosanquete. sam.bosanquet@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk

growing alongside Harpalejeunea molleri. The dainty Harpanthus scutatus was admired on several damp rocks, and the morning was rounded off nicely with some very distinctive Plagiochila heterophylla alongside P. spinulosa. Doug asked us to respect the NNR’s bryophyte flora and not to collect any specimens: cameras were working on overdrive, but not a single bryophyte was picked. A leisurely afternoon on the shore of Llyn Trawsfynydd produced a few things that we had not encountered before during the week, including Ephemerum serratum and Pohlia bulbifera, then we returned to experience the tourist pleasures of shopping and ice-creams in Betws-y-coed. The aim of the week was to introduce international bryologists to the richness of north Wales’ bryophyte flora, and this was admirably achieved. We saw 301 taxa during the week, and

structures in greater detail. All photographs were taken by one of the authors, Peter Creed. Brief notes indicate habitat, where to look for the moss or liverwort, identification features and similar species. As a very introductory guide, attempting to draw the beginner into this field with a colourful and easy to use book, containing the minimum of technical detail, it works well. The main photographs of each species are generally of good quality and the descriptive notes helpful. The photographs showing close-up details are more of a mixed bag, some helpful, some adding little of value – line drawings would have been more helpful occasionally. The selection of species is good, with most of those that you might expect to find on every bryological excursion in the counties covered (with the exception of Rhynchostegium confertum perhaps), together with some less common ones and a rarity or two. I would query very few of the authors’ selections: Syntrichia ruralis var. ruraliformis is included but not var. ruralis, much the commoner in our region. The rare Scorpidium cossonii is included, but not Drepanocladus aduncus, the commonest ‘hook-moss’ here. Typographical errors are very few. This is definitely a book to recommend to the beginner, to slip into the pocket when out for a countryside walk. It will give pleasure to leaf through, helpful guidance, and hopefully, inspiration to take a budding interest further.

Sean O’Learye. s.v.oleary@reading.ac.uk

My first impression of this small guide was that the title is a little misleading. As ‘A guide to finding mosses in

Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire’, I had expected to be reviewing an account of localities within the three counties where I might expect to find interesting bryophytes, or a guide to where I might look to find a particular species. In fact, it is really an identification guide to some of the mosses and liverworts found in the area, with some very brief information about localities. It is the second in a series of three similar guides produced by Pisces Publications, the others focusing on Fungi, and Orchids of the three counties. The book is pocket-sized, reasonably priced (£5.95 from the publishers) and very attractive to look through. It is clearly aimed at the complete beginner who wants to take their very first steps in bryology in the local area. An introductory section gives advice on checking the key features of a bryophyte, including some helpful line drawings. This is followed by a very brief list of important habitats, names of examples of each from the area, and English names of some typical bryophytes from those habitats. The remainder of the book is an identification guide to 30 liverworts and 104 mosses, many found commonly within the region, others not so common but also of interest. The accounts are necessarily short, as the entire book is just over 70 pages, with two species covered on each small page. Each species is illustrated by a colour photograph of the plant growing in situ, together with a close-up showing leaves or other

A GUIDE TO FINDING MOSSES IN BERKSHIRE, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE & OXFORDSHIREPeter Creed & Tom HaynesPublished by Pisces Publications (2013)ISBN 978-1874357568

BookReview

rTop: the spectactular liverwort assemblege of Coed y Rhygen (from left to right): a lush cushion of Lepidozia cupressina; the abundant Adelanthus decipiens and a rather un-photogenic Leptoscyphus cuneifolius. Jeff Duckett/Silvia Pressel sBottom: Alison and Pina reflect on a good day’s work. Jeff Duckett