Oxyrrhynchium speciosum Showy Feather-moss

An autoicous, pleurocarpous moss which is similar to Oxyrhynchium hians but larger, less prostrate, grows in wet places and frequently produces sporophyte capsules in winter. It occurs in fens, flushes, watersides and other marshy places, often around the bases of trees. It is rather scarce overall in Britain and most abundant in the southeast. It is very uncommon in Wales with somewhat disjunct occurrences, mostly in south and west Wales. In West Glamorgan it occurs in Oxwich Marsh, Crymlyn Fen and in the willow-alder woodlands along the nearby Tennant Canal, where it forms large carpets on the wet woodland floor. It occurs in a few other marshy areas in woodlands and marshy ground near water courses in Neath Port Talbot.