''Ditrichum cornubicum'', commonly known as the Cornish path-moss, is a

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

endemic to Cornwall, United Kingdom. First discovered in 1963, on a roadside west of Lanner, Cornwall by

Jean Paton Jean Annette Paton ( née Comins or Comyn; born 4 January 1929) is a British botanist, bryologist and botanical illustrator. She has written many books on the bryology of the United Kingdom and the flora of Cornwall, and described several ne ...

, it has since been found in two other places within Cornwall. It was published as new to science in 1976.

Distribution, habitat and conservation

In 1963, a local bryologist

, found an unknown specimen at a roadside to the west of Lanner, near

Redruth Redruth ( , kw, Resrudh) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also inc ...

, in west Cornwall. It was on mine spoil used to surface a small roadside lay-by. It has not been re-found at Lanner but two years later, in 1965 she found the same species at a disused copper mine on the south-east edge of

Bodmin Moor Bodmin Moor ( kw, Goon Brenn) is a granite moorland in north-eastern Cornwall, England. It is in size, and dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. It includes Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall, and Rough Tor, a s ...

at Minions. In 1997 David Holyoak found another population nearby at Crow's Nest. A small population discovered in west

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, Ireland is likely to have been an accidental introduction from Cornwall and appears to have disappeared. The entire world population of this species covers only 0.16msq and it currently a focus species within the Back from the Brink conservation project which aims to halt its decline and stop its extinction.

Ecology

Only male plants have been found and reproduction is asexual with new plants growing from the leaf axil of rhizoid tubers. The moss is intolerant of competition from other plants and grows on compacted, sparsely vegetated ground, usually on or besides old paths, along tracks, occasionally on banks, as well as the crevices of old walls. The soils are humic or

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–sil ...

y, well drained and acid with a pH of 5.5 – 5.8. It likes a metal-rich substrate with concentrations of copper of 151 – 1400 parts per million (ppm). As the metals slowly leach out of the soil by weathering, other mosses can colonise and out-compete ''D cornubicum''. These mosses include ''

Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus ''Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus'' is a species of moss known as springy turf-moss in the United Kingdom, and square goose neck moss in the United States. It is widespread in Eurasia and North America, and has been introduced to the Southern Hemisph ...

'' and '' Ceratodon purpureus''.

References

External links

Back from the brink
{{Taxonbar, from=Q17201430 Dicranales Bodmin Moor Endangered plants Endemic flora of England Environment of Cornwall Plants described in 1976