Thursday 26 May 2016

Racomitrium aciculare glamourshot

Another one from Mull, though pretty common, at least in Scotland and the west



Friday 20 May 2016

Learning to love the Sphagnales III - S.subnitens

Still trying to learn to love the Sphagnum. This one comes from the Isle of Mull and it has some signature features that ought to make it readily identifiable in the field ... maybe.

First up it's a bit dingy lookg - at least this one is. It isn't always, apparently. But the capitulum also has a tendency to a green centre with more red pigments around the outside. Like so:



Next it has a reddish stem, almost triangular upright stem leaves (but slightly more "square" proximally), and typically two branching stems and one trailing. Like so:


Seems like that's enough to be going on with. I kind of fell, sort of, that I would know it again if I were to come face to face with it. Though I probably will have forgotten its name by then!




Thursday 19 May 2016

Scorpidium scorpioides

An oldie but a goodie, a fat, julaceous moss from a flush on the Isle of Mull - and the best moss name ever