Julie, Richard and Meriel at Dinas Dinlle

Meeting report

Philippa Thompson, November 2021

The North Wales non flowering Plant group held its first outdoor meeting since Covid at the end of October. Five of us, Julie, Meriel, Tom, Richard and Philippa, met at the car park at Dinas Dinlle, a dune system on the North West corner of the Lleyn Peninsular, a change of venue that was suggested due to the unsettled weather.

We started on the Salt marsh. Very interesting botanically but not a lot of bryological interest other than Syntrichia ruraliformis and Bryum rubens on the adjoining bank We had a long debate about some dark green cushions growing on stones embedded in a muddy bank above a culvert, but they turned out to be cushions of algae and we found plentiful cushions of Tortella flavovirens on stony ground at the far side.

The sand dunes produced copious amounts of Homalothecium lutescens and Brachythecium albicans and there are plenty of other packets that still needed to be sorted out at home.

Homalothecium lutescens

Highlights of the day were Fossombronia nestling in the turf along the track. No mature capsules but some immature capsules were taken, to wait for the spores to ripen.

Fossombronia with antheridi

A clump of Ditrichum gracile was located by the side of the track. It had been recorded before from the grid square but not in the same place.

It was a lovely day in the sunshine. It was good to get out as a group once more and it was a new environment for all of us bryologically so plenty to keep us occupied.