Plagiothecium denticulatum Dented Silk-moss

A dark glossy-green, autoicous pleurocarpous moss with rather flat-looking, translucent shoots, which grows on logs, stumps, tree bases, rocks and acidic banks in woodland. It is a species that probably benifitted from acidic atmospheric deposition in the past and has undergone a marked decline in some areas in recent decades as air quality has improved. Nevertheless it is still widespread in Britain, including most of Wales. It occurs as two varieties in Britain, of which var. denticulatum is the most widspread and the only one represented in West Glamorgan. The other, var. obtusifolium, is confined to upland and montane habitats, mostly in mountainous areas of Britain. Although Plagiothecium denticulatum var. denticulatum is found throughout Wales it appears to be quite uncommon in West Glamorgan with only a few scattered records. Sporophyte capsules are common in spring and summer.