Mosses and Liverworts recorded in Blisworth Churchyard

Rachel Carter - 2008

It turns out that the Churchyard around St. John the Baptist Church, Blisworth
is one of the more prolific areas for a wide variety of mosses and liverworts.
Ground level is coincident with a common level, through most of the year, of water
in wells a little further up in the village so conditions for mosses are optimum.

A few local enthusiasts study mosses and liverworts, ie. Bryophytes, both for their own interest and enjoyment, and to gather data for mapping projects coordinated by the British Bryological Society.  Mosses and liverworts are best appreciated by looking at them very closely, with a hand lens or a microscope; if you want to do this, choose one which is obviously very plentiful, and even then only take a small piece.   The website www.britishbryologicalsociety.org.uk is good for more information; go to Activities, "BBS Field Guide - main site" for an index to get to pictures and descriptions.  

In a county like Northamptonshire with little open countryside, churchyards can be an important habitat for all kinds of wildlife and mosses are no exception.  Species which like to live on stone do particularly well, but there is often a good variety of soil- and tree-loving ones as well although Blisworth lacks the latter.  Liverworts tend to need higher moisture levels than mosses so they are relatively less frequent in churchyards. A fairly ordinary churchyard in Northamptonshire would typically support fifteen or so varieties, richer ones about 20 or 30 and the best, including Blisworth, more like 30 or 40.

Blisworth churchyard has a good range of fairly common mosses, plus two which are comparatively rare locally.  Hygrohypnum luridum usually grows in wet places, on stones by or in streams etc, but it does occasionally turn up on wet stone in churchyards and 8 of the 10 recent records of this species in Northamptonshire are from this sort of habitat  - the others being a woodland stream and a canal.  Syntrichia virescens is a small moss which grows in hairy cushions on trees and stones; there are about 20 records of it in Northamptonshire, but it may be under-recorded – you need a microscope to distinguish it from other rather similar hairy cushions.

Species

English name

Notes

Amblystegium serpens

Creeping Feather-moss

Tiny, thread-like shoots in a fine mat; fairly common

Barbula convoluta

Lesser Bird's-claw Beard-moss

On bare soil; often makes a yellowish-green patch

Barbula unguiculata

Bird's-claw Beard-moss

On bare soil; common in gardens

Brachythecium rutabulum

Rough-stalked Feather-moss

Very common moss, creeping in big green patches on soil, stone or wood

Bryoerythrophyllum recurvirostrum  

Red Beard-moss

Small moss with narrow leaves; often brick-red low down

Bryum argenteum

Silver-moss

Tiny silver shoots; often grows on pavements

Bryum capillare

Capillary Thread-moss

Common on walls, also on wood; spirals up when dry

Bryum dichotomum

Bicoloured Bryum

On bare soil; often has baby plants in the leaf axils

Bryum rubens

Crimson-tuber Thread-moss

On bare soil; often has tiny red football-like “tubers”

Calliergonella cuspidata

Pointed Spear-moss

In grass, damp areas. Shoots almost sharp at tip

Ceratodon purpureus

Redshank

Common moss of acid soils, can look reddish en masse – but here it is a green and non-descript cushion

Didymodon insulanus

Cylindric Beard-moss

Narrow leaves, top ones longer than lower; twisted when dry

Didymodon luridus

Dusky Beard-moss

Small moss growing on  stone; leaves more triangular than the other Didymodons

Didymodon nicholsonii

Nicholson's Beard-moss

Small plant with narrow leaves growing on the tarmac path.  Formerly rare, but recently spreading widely

Didymodon rigidulus

Rigid Beard-moss

Small plant with blunt-tipped narrow leaves

Didymodon sinuosus

Wavy Beard-moss

Dull green patches on damp graves.  Leaves have wavy edges and are often broken at the tip.

Eurhynchium praelongum

Common Feather-moss

Very common, regularly pinnate shoots

Fissidens taxifolius

Common Pocket-moss

On bare soil.  Flat shoots, leaves in 2 rows [unusual in mosses]

Grimmia pulvinata

Grey-cushioned Grimmia

Hairy cushions with drooping capsules, on stone

Homalothecium sericeum

Silky Wall Feather-moss

Big patches on graves and wall; curly-looking when dry.

Hygrohypnum luridum - fairly rare

Drab Brook-moss

Uncommon aquatic moss; copious quantities in the deep gully round church, NE side

Hypnum cupressiforme

Cypress-leaved Plait-moss

Very. common, especially on trees; here on wooden seat.

Hypnum lacunosum

Great Plait-moss

Similar, but swollen brownish shoots; on flat grave

Lophocolea bidentata

Bifid Crestwort

Liverwort.  Notched leaves in 2 rows.  In grass, NE of church

Plagiomnium undulatum

Hart's-tongue Thyme-moss

Big, tall moss; long undulate leaves with teeth all round

Rhynchostegiella tenella

Tender Feather-moss

Small creeping moss with long narrow leaves; in gully

Rhynchostegium confertum

Clustered Feather-moss

Common, but rather non-descript, creeping moss

Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus

Springy Turf-moss

Starry appearance, in grass; common “weed” of lawns

Scleropodium purum

Neat Feather-moss

Swollen-looking shoots in grass by front gate

Syntrichia intermedia

Intermediate Screw-moss

Large hairy cushions on gravestones

Syntrichia virescens - fairly rare

Lesser Screw-moss

Uncommon moss, small hairy cushion on a gravestone

Thuidium tamariscinum

Common Tamarisk-moss

Pretty fern-like shoots, in the grass [often a woodland plant]

Tortula acaulon

Cuspidate Earth-moss

On bare soil; large round capsules buried in leaves

Tortula muralis

Wall Screw-moss

Small hairy patches on walls and gravestones; very common

Zygodon viridissimus

Green Yoke-moss

Small plants on the church wall [more often grows on trees].

Below are some photogenic mosses - photographs by Rachel Carter