New moss to science – discovery confirmed in Carmarthenshire
A new moss to science has been discovered in Carmarthenshire!
This is the first entirely new moss to be discovered in Britain since Bryum dyffrynense (discovered by David Holyoak at Morfa Dyffryn in north Wales in 2006) and is Carmarthenshire’s only known unique moss.
Discovered earlier on this year by Sam Bosanquet from CCW it took some months to establish that it was new to science and had to be sent to the world expert on the genus Orthotrichum in Madrid. It has been named Orthotrichum cambrense, a name fitting a Welsh speciality.
At present, Orthotrichum cambrense is known from a number of trees around the picnic site and car park at Dryswlyn Castle, with an additional patch a few miles to the west near Nantgaredig. It may be present elsewhere in the Tywi valley, and further surveys are needed. For the moment, protection of the trees on which this species grows is vital to its survival.
Carmarthenshire Biodiversity November/December 2011 eNewsletter
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