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Ryedale Natural History Society: Mosses and Liverworts

See below for P.C. Bowes’ lists of species.

Moss growing on a limestone wall in January

Woodland mosses, some with spores
Moss growing in a wood, February	Moss growing in a wood, February	Moss growing in a wood, February

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Records of Mosses and Liverworts

by P.C. Bowes

Preamble
Objectives. Records were made in pursuit of an interest in the mosses and liverworts of the writers locality. The recording was not meant to be systematic.

Area covered. Recording was restricted for personal convenience, to the four 10km squares SE 78 79 88 89 (all in VC62) all centred on, and to the north of Pickering; the majority being in SE 89. The area includes moorland, semi-natural woodland, forest plantations with many wet sites of streams, seepages and bogs.

Sites. Sites were chosen while mainly walking in the area. Those which proved to be sufficiently interesting were visited several times and studied in detail.

Records. Records are entered primarily in a card index under species names. The cards carry lists of the sites, named, where species were found together with six-figure grid references, altitudes, dates and brief habitat descriptions and lists of associated species where this was of interest. Standard Botanical Tetrad references are also given. The index is not quite up to date.

Short reports have been prepared on sites which have been studied in detail. These include notes on geology and other features of the sites and more detail on habitats and associations. Copies of reports have been given to owners of the sites - Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and the Pickering Office of Forest Enterprise.

Records have also been entered on standard Bryophyte Recording Cards RP 22, August 1992, and sent to the British Bryophyte Society’s (BBS) recorder for VC62 - formerly Mr T L Blockeel and currently Mr J M Blackburn. 23 cards covering 12 sites have been sent.

Packeted voucher specimens, with written details, are held by the writer. Two, for new records, are lodged with the BBS herbarium

Where difficulties in naming were encountered, specimens were sent to the BBS Recorders/Referees for confirmation or correction.

Nomenclature. This follows the Bryophyte Floras of A J E Smith and the 1981 BBS Census Catalogue by M.F.V. Corley and M.O. Hill.

An appreciable number on nomenclatural revisions have been made since 1981 and are to be found in the new, 1998, Census Catalogue prepared by T.L. Blockeel and D.G. Long.

For the purpose of the following list of species, the needed corrections have not been made.

List of Species

The list comprises species recorded by the writer and a few made by others – mainly at Fen Bog.** The liverwort (right) was growing at the edge of a ditch in woodland.