June short walk: a leisurely mooch in a ruined waterway

A bleak forecast didn’t stop a smallish group of resolute walkers from taking on the June short walk yesterday. The route followed a quiet gully south of Chewton, much revitalised by recent damp weather. It’s quite amazing how even the little moisture we’ve had over the last ten days has brightened a grey landscape.

What better way to spend a Sunday? There is a universe down there, and you have to get down to see it. (Photo: Cassia Read)

Significant patches of ground stood out in bright colours of different moss and lichen species, and hand lenses were deployed enthusiastically and with great effect under the engaging guidance of Cassia Read. It should be said that a lot of bending, creeping and crouching was necessary to get the right observations, but the result was definitely worth the effort.

And another amazing, though apparently prosaic fact: the gully we traversed is the product of gold rush destructiveness, and is still struggling over a century later…definitely a candidate for World Heritage nomination?

Our thanks to Cassia for making her expertise so accessible in the field. Here’s a partial list of moss species observed:

Dawsonia longiseta (Small Dawsonia)
Polytrichum juniperinum (Juniper Moss)
Grimmia laevigata (Salt and Pepper)
Grimmia pulvinata (Cushion Moss)
Braunia imberbe (Green Hoar-moss)
Rosalubryum billarderii (Rosette Moss)
Sematophyllum homomallum (Bronze Signal Moss)
Hypnum cupressiforme (Plait Moss)
Triquetrella papillata (Common Twine Moss)
Triquetrella paradoxa (Messy Twine Moss)