Didymodon ferrugineus Rusty Beard-moss

A small, dioicous, reddish-brown, acrocarpous moss which forms cushions or tufts on skeletal, calcareous substrates such as limestone, scree, rock ledges, quarries and the edges of tracks and roads. It is similar to Didymodon fallax, but is smaller and the leaves, which are much more reflexed and often slightly curled, are arranged in three ranks. This can often be seen best when viewed from above. It is scattered throughout Britain and Ireland and is concentrated mostly along the south coast in Wales. It is locally abundant in West Glamorgan particularly in Neath Port Talbot where it occurs along forest roads and other tracks or bare areas where there is a calcareous influence. Colonies sometimes occur in very large, compact patches which cover extensive areas of bare ground. It has undergone a significant range expansion and increase in abundance in recent decades. Sporophyte capsules are unknown in Britain