Meeting report

The winter season of meetings began on an overcast drizzle-filled day, with the traditional joint Southern Group and Wessex Group meeting in the New Forest. This was in fact a return meeting, after 12 years, to the Burley Rocks and Mill Lawn area in the west of the Forest. This area includes a large area of grazed lawn, with flushed valley sides sloping gradually down to Mill Lawn Brook. The exceptionally wet year meant that conditions were pretty soggy, despite the drier recent weather. An enthusiastic group of 20 bryologists (including a very young bryologist in a baby carrier), suitably booted with wellies, headed off to explore the valley. The area has an interesting mix of acid and neutral flushes, with a fine range of Sphagnum species and associated communities.

Classically, the group instantly fractured in two, with one searching the river banks and another looking at the mires further up the valley side. The river group soon found typical plants of eroding river banks and surrounding grassland, including Pohlia annotina, Bryum dichotomum, Epipterygium tozeri, Philonotis fontana, Pseudephemerum nitidum, and large populations of naturalised Lophocolea bispinosa (an introduction from Australia). This tiny plant is now widespread in the New Forest and has probably spread on the hooves of the free-roaming livestock. Also, found nearby was Calliergonella lindbergii. Further on, a good population of Calliergon giganteum was admired. Nearby some C. cordifolium was also discovered. Further up the slope, the runnels between the heathers and Sphagnum hummocks held an excellent range of wetland species, including Campylium stellatum, Scorpidium scorpioides, S. revolvens and a few patches of the more base-demanding S. cossonii, as well as Sarmentypnum exannulatum, Bryum pseudotriquetrum, Aulacomnium palustre and a nice clump of Dicranum bonjeanii, with particularly undulate leaves.

Much time was spent deciphering the species of Sphagnum, and luckily Sharon was at hand to help confirm the identity of various puzzling collections. A total of 12 species were found, including perhaps the largest population of S. contortum in the Forest, with its pale stems and tiny triangular stem leaves. The combination of colours was quite arresting, with the golden and ochre tones of the S. auriculatum and S. inundatum contrasting with the reddish hues of S. subnitens, S, rubellum and S. medium. Jonathan found some very pigmented S. fallax that showed the characters of the isoviitae form of this plant, which in Europe is considered by some to be a distinct taxon. A good range of bog hepatics were found snaking through the Sphagnum, including Odontoschisma sphagni, Kurzia paucifolia, Cephalozia bicuspidata and C. connivens, as well as much Calypogeia fissa. A good search in a New Forest mire is not complete without some Splachnum ampullaceum, and just before lunch a patch was duly found.

A lunchtime stop nestled in the lower branches of a sallow provided some epiphytes, but also another alien species, Lophocolea semiteres. Later careful checking by Jonathan of a Kurzia found by Sharon revealed the perianths of K. sylvatica, which hasn’t been confirmed in the New Forest since a record by Jean Paton from 1977. In the afternoon, we explored a new 1km square within the valley and were pleased to find more of this very rich, if somewhat squelchy, habitat. The light soon began to fade and the wet but satisfied group headed back to the cars.

Andrew Branson 9/11/2024