Schistidium elegantulum Elegant Grimmia

An autoicous acrocarpus moss which grows on limestone cliffs, rocks and boulders, particularly in shaded sites in open woodland but also on roadside walls nd bridges. It is similar to the much more common Schistidium crassipilum and differentiating these two species in the field can be difficult. Nevertheless the narrow dark-green leaves with conspicuous long, white, rigid hairpoints and the overall spiky appearance are helpful pointers. It is an uncommon species in Britain with a scattered and largely western distribution. Many records in south Wales are from walls and bridges but most of the records from West Glamorgan are of colonies growing on natural limestone outcrops along the south Gower coast. Sporophyte capsules are frequent from winter to spring.