Bryum alpinum Alpine Thread-moss

A very striking Bryum which produces small, compact, usually dark red cushions. Despite its species name it belongs to the European Temperate element although its range does extend nortwards into Norway and Sweden. It likes to grow on intermittently flushed rock on the banks of streams and rivers and also on sea cliffs, damp gravelly soil in quarries and gravelled tracks along forest roads. It is widely distributed in the west and north of Britain and is widespread in Wales. It is mainly an upland species in West Glamorgan where it is occasional along gravelled roads and quarries in the conifer plantations of Neath Port Talbot.