Category: Trip report

Well, it was great to meet up again for real, rather than over a screen!

Even though the weather forecast deteriorated over the preceding days, sixteen of us met in the new car park at Smardale. We wished each other “Happy New Year’s” in the flesh.

Eventually 110 lichen species and 62 bryophyte species were recorded – good effort!

Lichens

Those interested in lichens remained in the car park- for quite a while. Some willows and ashes provided a variety of corticolous species, many of them lovers of nutrient enrichment: there was some well-developed Parmelina pastillifera with bun shaped isidia. The car park wall provided a variety of jelly lichens including Leptogium pulvinatum, Leptogium gelatinosum and Collema auriforme as well as limestone-loving crusts such as the pinky Acrocordia conoidea.

Eventually the group set off along the old railway line, Melanohalea laciniatula was quickly found on a trackside tree, and further along there was the pepperpot lichen, Pertusaria pertusa. Lecidella elaeochroma provided an opportunity to test whether everyone’s C, bleach, was still working. Non-lichen interest included water avens and St George’s mushroom.

The first railway viaduct provided an opportunity to look at a lot more limestone lichens, including Hymenilia prevosti ( it scratches green) and Caloplaca flavocitrina. Cladonia coniocraea was found growing at the foot of a wall. Some of us were more interested in the Peltigera species growing profusely on mossy log piles: P praetextata and membranacea were identified, but could that be P. rufescens? They are such variable things…and then a steam train came over the Settle-Carlisle line to distract us again.

Further progress along the track saw Thelotrema lepadinum being found, and a fine example of multi-tiered Cladonia chlorophaea: the cups bore cups which themselves bore cups. Traveling down into the valley through the woods was a tempting idea, but in the end we continued along the railway line.

Lunch was taken by a small viaduct over a beck: the sandstone construction gave us new lichens for the day: probable Lecidea lithophila, Porpidia tuberculosa (the K+UVpurple reaction was demonstrated) , Lecanora soralifera and Rhizocarpon reductum. Parmelia saxatilis was prolific on the railings.

A short distance further on and we were at the main viaduct. Swifts angled around us as Ochrolechia parella, Caloplaca crenularia, Pertusaria lactescens, Rhizocarpon geographicum, Melanelixia fuliginosa and Lecidea grisella and L. fuscoatra were found on the sandstone. Could that isidiate jelly lichen be  Scytinium magnussonii? No, John Douglass’s later research revealed it was a young Collema fuscovirens. 

The limestone cliffs just further on provided examples of squamulose lichens Romjularia lurida, Acarospora cervina, Toninia aromatica and T. sedifolia. We hoped that the limekilns might provide shelter from the rain and more interesting species, but were a bit of a disappointment. Time was moving on. The bryologists had called it a day, and as some of the party turned for home, we decided to as well. The woods would have to wait for another day.

So back to the car park it was.  An extra-time short journey down the railway line towards Waitby provided some lovely thalli of Parmotrema perlatum, more Pertusaria pertusa and Anisomeridium polypori on the large trackside ash trees.

As so often, there’s lots of scope for a return visit in the future. Thanks to everyone for a grand day out, and Cumbria Wildlife Trust for permission to visit.

Pete Martin

Bryophytes

The bryo group spent some time in the car park, admiring the limestone wall which had a few interesting species, including Porella platyphylla and a nice example of Ditrichum gracile (which we now have to call Flexitrichum gracile), showing typical lax growth with stems a few centimetres long. We were all feeling a little rusty after several months without meetings, so it was good to have a look at some common species. Heading into the woodland, there was a patch of Anomodon viticulosus, frequent on limestone, while the trees had Zygodon rupestris, Ulota phyllantha, Orthotrichum stramineum and patches of a gemmiferous Metzgeria species. Peter Bullard checked it with his ultra-violet LED light and thought that the reaction, or lack of it, ruled out M. violacea, so this seems likely to be Metzgeria consanguinea.

We managed to continue at a reasonably brisk pace to reach the first viaduct which crossed the track. Walls under the viaduct had a good coverage of bryophytes, mainly limestone-loving species: Ctenidium molluscum, Neckera complanata, Schistidium crassipilum, Tortella tortuosa, Homalothecium sericeum. Taking the path down the slope after the viaduct, we headed into denser woodland on a very slippy muddy path. The ground was damp and shaded, with patches of Plagiochila porelloides and P. asplenioides. Peter Bullard was pleased to find Loeskeobryum brevirostre, an Atlantic woodland species, and Belinda Lloyd spotted some Radula complanata. We reached the beck at the bottom of the slope, and although there was only access to a limited stretch of the water we found a few interesting species, thanks to Kerry Milligan and Stuart Colgate who had come in wellies and waded into the stream to fetch samples of Fontinalis antipyretica, Cinclidotus fontinaloides and Platyhypnidium riparioides. There was also a good stretch of limestone wall with additional species Thamnobryum alopecurum, Didymodon insulanus, Scapania aspera, and Plagomnium rostratum creeping over stones at the base.  

Most of us then returned to the main track, while Kerry and Stuart crossed the beck to check the opposite bank and slope, where they found Nowellia curvifolia, Riccardia palmata and Trichostomum brachydontium. A few of us continued across the viaduct and after a lunch break, headed to the quarry. This section of the track has more exposed limestone rock faces where there was Homalothecium lutescens. In the quarry itself we found a nice patch of Trichostomum crispulum and quite a bit of Syntrichia montana (previously S. intermedia). A few people had left by then and it was getting well into the afternoon when a heavy downpour sent the rest of us scurrying back to the car park. It was great to meet up with people ‘for real’ and get our brains back into bryophyte mode, as well as having the opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss IDs. We were particularly pleased to have such a good turnout and meet some new faces – thanks to everyone for coming!

Clare Shaw

Lichens

A full team (yes, there were eleven) gathered at Eycott Hill on a cool October morning. Cloud played with the fells, a harbinger of the rain to come later in the day. And after a short introduction, the group parted: five of us to look at the lichen and six to look at the mosses and such.

Of course, we headed in the same direction and were interested in the same wall initially. But it didn’t detain the bryologists long: they headed to the bog on a sphagnum hunt.  The lichen folk lingered: as befits somewhere with a variety of rocks (Carboniferous limestone and Eycott Hill lavas), the wall had some interesting species. We examined Lecanora Campestris; L. sulphurea; Ochroclechia parella; Collema auriforme and some Caloplacas that we couldn’t sort out. We found Parmelia saxatilis too. No surprises there, but it wasn’t on the NBN atlas list so we could regard it as new for Eycott!

Eventually, we tore ourselves away and wandered in search of rocky outcrops and peaty exposures. Highlights included fruiting Diabeis baeomyces and the prolific and fertile Massalongia carnosa. We found both the Cetrarias previously reported from the site: C. aculeata and C. muricata and very fine and jolly coloured they looked too. The pseudocyphellae on the former were examined and found to be near the axils as the book said they would be. There were good examples of bird-perch-favouring species such as Xanthoria candelaria, Lecanora muralis, Lasallia pustulata and Candelaria vitellina.  Stereocaulon dactylophyllum was found near the summit and we even felt confident enough to key out some Cladonias as a group. Unsurprisingly, this didn’t always result in a satisfactory identification.

As the afternoon progressed and the rain set in further, we noticed that the bryologists had left the bog and drifted back to the car park. Which gave us an excuse to head back ourselves via a couple of hawthorns that took the lichen species list for the day to a round 50. Or was it 51? Anyway, it seems that eleven of them were previously unrecorded at Eycott. And as for the bryologists? Well they seemed happy with their sphagnum tally…

Pete Martin

And the bryologists …

We had a good turnout on the bryophyte front, with 6 of us, including one keen new member (hurrah!). We recorded 40 species, including 10 Sphagnum species (possibly others, but we haven’t been able to confirm these with any confidence) and other bog specialists such as Scorpidium scorpioides, revolvens and cossonii, Straminergon stramineum, Campylium stellatum and Aulacomnium palustre. On the rocky outcrops there were Andreaea rothii, Hedwigia stellata, Barbilophozia floerkei, large quantities of Ptilidium ciliare and Racomitrium heterostichum and lanuginosum.

It’s an interesting site, with some limestone and many ridges of volcanic rock formed by eroded ancient lava flows. Between the ridges, water collects to form very wet, boggy areas, with a good range of Sphagnum species. Wellies are definitely needed. There’s an interesting mix of base-rich flushes and more acidic bog. I’m sure we missed lots of exciting stuff (we didn’t find any Sphagnum fuscum, which is supposed to be here), and we didn’t get as far as the woodland, which might be worth a look on another occasion.

Clare Shaw

Photos by Pete Martin and Clare Shaw:

Lichens

This month, there were no severe weather warnings, so the group trip to Tom Gill near Tarn Hows could go ahead. On the other hand, the forecast wasn’t great and the spreading Coronavirus pandemic was a concern… but in the end the nine of us who made the trip, including a couple of new participants, were treated to a pretty dry day, with a couple of glimpses of the sun.

For once, we were quick out of the car park: but only for about 50 metres to an old roadside ash pollard with impressive Peltigera horizontalis. After a while looking at that, and pondering the associated crusts, we gradually climbed through the Atlantic oakwoods. There was a lot of Ochrolechia androgyna, and impressive sheets of Hypotrachyna taylorensis. Some blue dots on a Parmelia species intrigued: are they Endococcus parmeliarum? We found the Thelotrema lepadinum and Arthonia cinnabarina listed in the SSSI citation, but couldn’t find the Lobaria pulmonaria that in 1970 had been “abundant on old Quercus”. Maybe the tree isn’t there any more.

On the other hand, on an oak in a damp hollow by a stream junction, there was prolific Mycobilimbia pilularis and Pannaria conoplea, as well as high up rosettes of Peltigera horizontalis. Something of the Lobarion community still lingers. The bryophyte section of the party managed to impress us with handsome woollywort (Tricholea tomentella) before finding Dermatocarpon luridum for us in the beck.

After lunch we carried on up through the wood, finding Bryoria fuscescens on larch, before heading out into the pasture area to the south. Trees there provided Cetrelia olivetorum, Collema flaccidum and some interesting species on ash. Wilson’s filmy fern (Hymenophyllum wilsonii) was found growing on a rock outcrop. The day’s count was over 60 species, with something for everyone: a further visit would almost certainly produce more.

Pete Martin

Bryophytes

The lower part of the wood was carpeted with typical atlantic oakwood species such as Rhytidiadelphus loreus, Thuidium tamariscinum, Isothecium myosuroides and Polytrichastrum formosum. Mature oaks had luxuriant wefts of Frullania tamarisci on their trunks. Closer inspection revealed other smaller liverworts such as Lepidozia reptans and Lejeunea cavifolia. Some of the oaks also had extensive patches of Scapania gracilis.

The beck and its tributaries offered a different assemblage of species. Thamnobryum alopecurum and Platyhypnidium riparoides were abundant on the rocks in the main beck with attractive patches of Hyocomium armoricum in the splash zone. At the top of one of the tributary flushes, the beautiful liverwort Trichocolea tomentella (Handsome Woollywort) was discovered, with Palustriella commutata nearby.

Damp shaded banks above the beck produced Hookeria lucens, Plagiochila asplenioides, Fissidens adianthoides and abundant Pellia epiphylla. A single patch of Porella arboris-vitae (Bitter Scalewort) was found growing at the base of an old ash tree next to the beck, and Plagiochila spinulosa was also recorded nearby.

The boundary wall was covered in common bryophytes amongst which the liverwort Barbilophozia barbata was found to be fairly frequent.

After lunch we moved on to the upper part of the wood. This is a steep west facing bank with an area of block scree mostly covered by mosses. Leucobryum glaucum was abundant here, together with Dicranum majus and Bazzania trilobata. Nowellia curvifolia, which had been surprisingly sparse in the lower part, was frequent here on dead wood.

A diversion into the adjacent field to look for Lobaria and other lichens produced a few additional species, including Campylopus atrovirens, Andraea rothii and Polytrichum piliferum on rock outcrops. Of more interest was the Hymenophyllum wilsonii (Wilson’s Filmy Fern) mentioned above, and the large patch of Pterogonium gracile at the base of a veteran ash tree. Altogether 73 species were recorded on the day.

Kerry Milligan

Photos by Chris Cant and Kerry Milligan: