After rain showers at the end of May the narrow lanes around Ashurst were full and green on the first day of June and the churchyard was a haven of flowering grasses and shaded corners. I had started recording this tetrad in a private garden in March and wanted to explore some more of the area.
Large stone slabs leading to the church were wormed with Scleropodium cespitans in shaded areas, tight curls of Didymodon insulanus alongside. The brick wall surrounding the churchyard was topped with Homalothecium sericeum and Grimmia pulvinata, no surprises there, but turf just inside the wooden gate contained a mix of Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus, pointed shoots of Cirriphyllum piliferum and the soft leaves of Atrichum undulatum. In the SE corner of the church a couple of shoots of Thuidium tamariscinum added yet more variety.
A rotten stump sheltered by long grass bristled with Campylopus introflexus and Ceratodon purpureus and a wooden post was topped with Dicranoweissia cirrata.
The churchyard was good but short of epiphytes which I hoped to find in woodland opposite. Ash and Oak trees along Church Lane were wrapped in Neckera complanata and Rhynchostegium confertum making a good start. Syntrichia latifolia grew in a line down the less disturbed middle of the road. The woods were made up of tall conifers with some Oak and Ash but unfortunately all were securely enclosed behind a high deer fence. A low stump by the locked gate sent off a whiff of Lophocolea heterophylla but it didn’t look as if I was missing much by not being able to get into the woodland.
After the dense green of the lane a large field, freshly ploughed right up to its edges, was a shock to come across when I crossed the stile onto the public footpath. I don’t think a single thing was growing in it! There was a bit of Bryum dichotomum on bare earth by the path but insect skeletons on the moss hinted at recent spraying so I didn’t investigate further.
A hedge of Ash and Field Maple relieved the dreariness of a footpath sandwiched between two wire fences and some of the trees held a few treasures. One Ash was tufted with Dicranum scoparium suffering a bit after dry weather in early spring but just above it, nestled in a fork, Plagiomnium undulatum was kept moist. Further along an Oak had a few curls of Pulvigera lyellii and further up the trunk, a CCTV camera which must have captured some highly suspicious clambering around and peering at tree trunks!
In the next corner a steep bank of orange earth was scattered with tiny shoots of Epipterygium tozeri.
I turned back when I reached a small pond which was fenced like everything else.
Back in early spring my neighbour Keir mentioned that he gardened at a property in Ashurst with a stream and a bit of woodland where the owners wanted to encourage mosses so I offered to record the bryophytes at the property. The garden straddled two tetrads, both short of records so I had no idea what to expect!
In mid March the garden was a riot of colour with spring bulbs hogging the lawn but a raised bit of flower-free turf was pretty enough with just mosses. these included Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus and Calliergonella cuspidata and small areas of bare earth with Pleuridium acuminatum and Bryum rubens. The wall supporting the lawn was cushioned with Schistidium crassipilum and Syntrichia montana.
Wilder corners were calling so I left the garden and crossed the short edge of a triangular field to the point where the stream emerges from a culvert covered in faded fringes of Neckera complanata. Other bits of stone and loose concrete, wet by the stream were home to Lunularia cruciata and Amblystegium serpens.
The steep stream banks were packed with Fissidens bryoides and Microeurhynchium pumilum but dominated by Fissidens taxifolius. The banks, disturbed in places as a streamside path has been created recently, were being re-colonised by Primroses along with the rather more subtle, tiny leaves of Pohlia melanodon and Funaria hygrometrica.
A few old Ash trees were leaning across the stream and a little cushion of Orthotrichum tenellum grew amongst more common epiphytes. At the far tip of the field Leskea polycarpa grew on an Ash base above the water line.
Where the banks hadn’t been disturbed Conocephalum conicum and Pellia endiviifolia hung on close to the waterline. Plagiomnium undulatum was there but not in its usual abundance and Atrichum undulatum was just occasional too.
The stream formed a little pond in the far corner and more acidic bank had a furry covering of Dicranella heteromalla with a few shoots of Mnium hornum.
The garden team were taking down a wooden structure in the middle of the field. It had only been there a year but Dicranella staphylina and Pohlia melanodon grew on bare earth at its base. A small area of woodland was quite dry but at the edges Pulvigera lyellii grew on Ash and Myryiocoliopsis minutissima on a fallen Cherry tree.
Ponds surrounded by stones in the front garden made a lush moss habitat, full of common bryophytes. Amblystegium serpens was covered in a haze of capsules, Lunularia cruciata clung to damp stones and Leptodictyum riprarium grew just above the waterline. Didymodon luridus added a rusty glow.
TQ11T, with 7 previous records, rose to 28 from the stream section of the garden then up to 53 taxa with additions from Ashurst churchyard and Church Lane. TQ11Y has leapt from just 1 bryophyte recorded to 50 taxa, all from the garden.
But back to last week! As the footpath from Church Lane was disappointing I had time to stop on Spithurst Lane by the private Calcot Wood which is mostly old forestry. The rough entrance to the wood was pink with massed capsules of Funaria hygrometrica, visible from the lay-by. There was a wide verge with trees and a ditch so I had a quick scout along here.
Brad recorded around Pepper’s Pond and nearby Baven’s Wood which is better served by footpaths, bringing the tetrad tally to 37 taxa including the ephemeral moss Aphanorrhegma patens. It didn’t take long to bring the total up to 44 with a surprisingly rich assortment found along the unprepossessing verge. The epiphytes Lewinskya affinis, Orthotrichum diaphanum and Ulota bruchii were all new for the tetrad.
Sussex Bryophytes 
That was a (nice) long read! Well done.
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