Rhynchostegium megapolitanum Megapolitan Feather-moss

An autoicous pleurocarpous moss which grows in base-rich graslands, fixed dunes, on walls and on gravelly ground in coastal areas and also inland in various open habitats in the Breckland region of southeast England. It is very similar to Brachythecium rutabulum, but if in fruit can be distinguished from it immediately by its curved capsules that have a prominent beaked lid and which are held on smooth stalks. Non-fruiting plants are more difficult to identify but they have rather lax branching. The occurrence of this species in sandy habitats is also a useful pointer. However, confusion with other similar pleurocarpous mosses has probably led to it being under recorded. It is a Submediterranean-Subatlantic species which has a southern distribution in Britain which is almost enirely coastal in the west. It is exclusively coastal in Wales with scattered records, particularly along the south coast. In West Glamorgan it is widely distributed in sandy and gravelly soils all along the coast. Sporophyte capsules are occasional from autumn to winter.