Lophocolea semiteres in Cullaloe Hills, Fife

New to Fife and VC85, this liverwort was growing in the conifer plantation at NT1888 on 3rd January

Fossombronia pusilla, Dalgety Bay, Fife

Been a while since I posted anything to here but since I just came across one of my favourite liverworts I feel like I should.

Turkish Delight - Frullania dilitata in Turkey

In a Quercus wood at Igneada on the Black Sea

Mycorrhiza-like associations of liverworts and fungi

Fascinating stuff

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2005.01471.x/full

Plagiochila porelloides

New technique gives nice images of a liverwort, though may not show the in field character of the beast

Radula complanata gets you high (erm ... really?)

A beautiful, if not scarce, liverwort from weekend outing to Stobo, and a very weird video I found while searching for the species (Google suggested "radula complanata smoking" !)

I particularly love how the genius in the video identifies it as a lichen (while apparently holding in his hand the BBS field guide) then goes on to identify some "sphagnum" he takes from the side of a tree.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2FGUKNUTR0

Double vision

Two nice new byrophytes - Bryum radiculosum and Riccia sorocarpa. Both of them were new to me on Sunday and both new to Carlingnose Point on Monday!

Having been first introduced to the Riccia by LK beside the path on Sunday in Peeblesshire I was aware of the existence of this liverwort and its likely location, but it was the Bryum that made it happen. DL showed us it on Sunday and so I knew it was both under-recorded and mortar-loving. I had in my mind a location with lots of old mortar which I headed for on Monday lunchtime with immediate success. It took me no more than a minute to find what I was looking for. This is the benefit of spending time in the field with people who know what they're doing! Neither species had been recorded in NT18 before (according to NBN - let's see what the atlas says). Close inspection of both specimens revealed only somewhat disappointing tubers. they were there, but smallish and not very interesting. 80um was the biggest I could find (which was from the Fife sample). You can see a couple clinging to the stem of the Peeblesshire specimen below. Maybe I need to dig a bit deeper and wash carefully.

"Radiculose": producing many rootlets

Peebles:

Fife:

and the current NBN map for the Bryum ...

(details from VC85, or close enough:
Easter Muirhead, NS99, 1978 - DL
Glenfarg, NO11, 1977 - DL
N. of Kinghorn,NT2787, 01/04/2011 - LK/DC)

Calypogeia muelleriana

Another one from the Hermitage

Lateral leaf margins entire, no blue oil bodies, underleaves 2-lobed to 1/2-3/4 with 4-6 rows of cells, these 30-80um long

Bi-lobed underleaves

'pointy lateral leaf tips' - no notch, no blue oil

leaf tip underleaves

Hermitage, Perthshire

On a day trip to walk to the wonderful hermitage in Perthshire, a watery wonderland where the autumn leaves are a bit past their best. The bryophytes, though, are luscious, and I couldn't resists snagging a couple even though I was 'off duty'. Favourite of the day was Bazzania trolobata, which I have wanted to see for a while. One of those things you see in the field guide and look forward to meeting it.

I don't have photos that really do it justice. Might have to try again on that.

(to the left is down)

Each leaf has 3 or four points

Branches below point back into the 'mound'

Fossombronia pusilla!!!

A plant I've been looking forward to seeing. Finding it myself is a bonus, as often nice plants emerge from group outings. The third record that I can discern from Fife and there aren't enormous numbers of records from Scotland it would seem. In Fife it is known from the area around Star Moss (NO306035) and just south of Thornton (NT285959). All three Fife records on NBN are from 2004.

Distribution from NBN

Pictures

Habit

Habit 2 - sporophyte emerging

Purple rhizoids

Broken sporophyte

Spores

Spores and elater

Fuzzywuzzy Trichocolea

Another delight from D&G 19th October

Marsupella emarginata photoset

From Dumfries and Galloway, 24-26 May 2014

BBS field guide page

Marsupella emarginata

Scapania gracilis

Got a bit of spare time last night and couldn't resist getting out the microscope. One of my favourite things over the weekend was coming across three new spp. of Scapania (for me) - nemorea, gracilis and compacta. I still have nemorea in a packet I think so I may 'do' that one later. In the meantime here's a small tribute to S.gracilis. As the field guide says, "generally untidy appearance ... non-appressed lobes ... 3-dimensional... forms large cushions".

Scapania gracilis

BBS field guide page

Gymnocolia inflata

From Water of Leith above Harperrig Reservoir, on pathside banking. According to Watson moist upland soils are its favored habitat, and it can be the most prominent liverwort in many wet heath situations. Occurs (also) on peat. It was the only hepatic I remember once we got up towards 400m (although the water itself held Scapania undulata)

BBS Field Guide page

Gymnocolia inflata

 

Nowellia curvifolia

From Water of Leith above Harperrig Reservoir, 12th April 2014, NT0857. On a rotting log.

BBS Field Guide page

Nowellia curvifolia