Diario del proyecto Bryophytes of the British Isles

Woodlands are often quite diverse, however they may be predictable in that most woods share many species. Becoming familiar with the common woodland species will allow bryologists to distinguish between different types of woodland, woodland quality and allow for the identification of rarer species.

These are the commonest bryophytes in most lowland woodlands in my experience. Woodland to the north and west of the UK will have some different common species but here I will limit the list to those in English woods as I am more experienced in these habitats. Note: I will make a separate post about rotting wood and woodland streams.

Epiphytes (mosses and liverworts on trees).

Pleurocarpous mosses:
(these ones are often on trunks and branches)

• Hypnum cupressiforme (var. cupressiforme)
• Hypnum andoi
• Hypnum (cupressiforme var.) resupinatum
• Cryphaea heteromalla
• Isothecium myosuroides
• Brachythecium rutabulum (mostly on tree bases)
• Rhynchostegium confertum

Acrocarpous mosses:

• Orthotrichum affine
• Ulota bruchii / crispa agg.
• Zygodon conoideus / viridissimus

Liverworts:

• Frullania dilatata
• Metzgeria furcata
• Metzgeria violacea

Species on Soil.

Big, showy mosses that may be near paths or rides (more of them will be present in larger, older woods):

• Atrichum undulatum
• Polytrichastrum formosum

• Polytrichum commune (boggy or upland woods)
  (above three are all in the same family and may look similar).

• Dicranum scoparium

(below are big pleurocarps. Some grassland species might also be present along paths. The rarer species are at the bottom of the list)

• Thuidium tamariscinum
• Pseudoscleropodium purum
• Rhytidiadelphus loreus & R. squarrosus
• Eurhynchium striatum
• Pleurozium schreberi (commoner in the north and west of the UK)
• Hylocomium splendens (commoner in the north and west of the UK)

Smaller mosses, usually on banks:

• Dicranella heteromalla
• Fissidens taxifolius

This list is by no means exhaustive and you will find species not listed here. This list merely puts together some of the commonest bryophytes one might come across in a wood and it may be useful for a beginner to compare their finds to photographs of these when looking for a tentative ID.

Please get in touch if you have any questions or if I have left anything obvious off the list.

This list is intended to help anybody, particularly my girlfriend, to identify some of the commonest mosses and liverworts in urban areas. I've put some of my not great observations for reference.

Mosses on Walls or Stonework:
Tortula muralis - need to photograph
Grimmia pulvinata - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/24854367
Rosulabryum capillare - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/24854357
Syntrichia montana - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/18893525
Orthotrichum anomalum - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/36937079
Schistidium crassipilum - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/19763199
Homalothecium sericeum - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/13017398

Mosses on Pavements:
Bryum argenteum - need to photograph
Ignore the others - they're annoying. Most will be in genus Didymodon

Liverworts on Pavements and on Soil:
Marchantia polymorpha - need to photograph
Lunularia cruciata - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/17718329

https://www.inaturalist.org/lists/2801279-Urban-species-list here is a visual list - I will move to making these now that I have figured them out.