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Suffolk Natural History, Vol. 38
Bryophyte recording in Suffolk 2001 Whilst it is always exciting to find new Vice County or even county records, I get more satisfaction from discovering species not seen in the county for many years. Two such which have not been seen since Mayfield’s time turned up this year. Aphanorhegma patens was on the river bank at Hoxne, this is a species that seems to have become generally very scarce, I have asked a number of fellow bryologists if they have seen it lately but very few have. The other is Bryum donianum that was in a small pit on Knettishall heath. It is a plant with a Mediterranean distribution so this about the most northerly record from Britain. However a number of birds and insects seem to be making a move northwards so perhaps we shall see more of it in the future. Of new records, the most interesting were, the liverworts Leiocolea turbinata from Newmarket, Lophozia bicrenata from Knettishall Heath, and mosses Dicranum majus from Thetford warren. Tortula acaulon v papillosa from Brightwell and Pohlia whalenbergia var. calcarea from Tattingstone. The recent wet summers and autumns have had a positive influence on some small liverworts like Riccia sp. and Shaerocarpus sp. that are to be found in arable fields, they have not only been more abundant than usual but are producing spores, which are need to identify some species, earlier that normal. On the recording front I have now, with sterling help from Johnny Turner in the Woodbridge area, reached my minimum target of 40% of tetrads in each 10k square. I can now concentrate on some of the better sites in the hope of re-finding some more long lost species. Richard Fisk 1 Paradise Row, Ringsfield, Beccles NR34 8LQ
Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 38 (2002)