SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



MOSSES NEAR LLANDRINDOD WELLS. 



By the Rev. W. H. Painter. 



r I THE mosses mentioned in this paper were 

 -*~ gathered by me in July, 1899, when I was 

 staying for a short time at Llandrindod Wells, in 

 Radnorshire, a place which is becoming increasingly 

 famous on account of its medicinal waters. The 

 town stands in a wide upland valley, about 700 feet 

 above the sea-level, whilst the hills on the east 

 side of it rise to an altitude of upwards of 1,000 

 feet, thus sheltering it from the east winds. The 

 valley is intersected by the river Ithon, which 

 meanders down it, at one time rushing through a 

 rocky gorge and at another spreading out as it 

 flows through meadows. One of these gorges is in 

 the parish of Llanfairfechan, where it is spanned 

 by a picturesque bridge called the Alpine Bridge. 

 Another gorge is at Cefn, where it is crossed by a 

 very primitive suspension bridge, which is well 

 called Shaky Bridge, as when a pedestrian passes 

 over, it shakes considerably. 



About sixteen miles from Llandrindod is the 

 Elan Valley, now in course of being converted into 

 a series of reservoirs by the Birmingham Cor- 

 poration for the purpose of supplying the in- 

 habitants of that city with water. At a distance 

 of nine miles from Llandrindod in another direc- 

 tion are the ruins of Abbey Cwm Hir, where the 

 last Prince of Wales, Llewellyn, is said to have 

 been buried. There is not much remaining of the 

 abbey, but the site is a lovely one, and the drive 

 to it is very picturesque, as the road to it winds 

 about through the hills. 



The district is in a good state of cultivation; 

 consequently there is but little bog-land. As the 

 natural result of this, very few of the mosses 

 usually found upon such land were seen. How- 

 ever, upon Llandrindod Common, which has been 

 preserved as a park for the visitors, there is a 

 little swampy ground upon which a Sphagnum is 

 growing. 



All the mosses found by me in the district have 

 been examined, and in some cases named, by Mr. 

 E. C. Horrell, F.L.S., to whom my best thanks for 

 his kindness are due. Great assistance has also 

 been, as usual, readily given me by my friends 

 Messrs. R. cle G. Benson and W. P. Hamilton, of 

 Shrewsbury, which I thus gratefully acknow- 

 ledge. 



The nomenclature and arrangement that I have 

 adopted in the following list is that of Messrs. 

 Dixon and Jameson's " Student's Handbook of the 

 British Mosses." 



Sphagnum subsecundum Nees. var. contortum 

 Schp., Ridgway Common, ft. Llanyre. 



Catharinea undulata W. and M. Llanyre. ft. 



Polytrichum aloides Hedw. Llanyre. ft. Llan- 

 drindod Wells, ft. P. urnigerum L. Abbey 

 Cwm Hir. ft. Llandrindod Wells, ft. P. juni- 

 perinum Willd. Abbey Cwm Hir. Disserth. 

 Llandrindod Wells. ft. P. formosum Hedw. 

 Llanyre. ft. P. commune L. Llandrindod Wells. 

 Llanyre. 



Ceratodon purpureas Brid. Llandrindod Wells, ft. 



Diclwdontium pellucidum Schp. Llandrindod 

 Wells. 



Dicranella heteromalla Schp. Elan Valley. 



Dicranoweeisia cirrata Ldb. Llandrindod Wells, 

 ascending to 1,000 feet. 



Bicranum bonjeani De Not. Llanyre. B. sco- 

 parium Hedw. Abbey Cwm Hir. Llandrindod 

 Wells, ft. var. spadiceum Boul. Llanyre. D. 

 majus Turn. Disserth. 



Fissidens taxifolius Hedw. Llandrindod Wells. 



Grimmia apocarpa Hedw. Llandrindod Wells, 

 ft. near Alpine Bridge, var. pumila Schp. near 

 rocks, Llandrindod Old Church. var. rivularis 

 W. and M. R. Ithon, Disserth. G. pulvinata Sm. 

 Near Alpine Bridge, ft. Rocks, Llandrindod Old 

 Church, ft. G. tricophylla Grev. Reservoir Hill, 

 Llandrindod Wells, Wales. 1,000 ft. 



Rhacomitrium aciculare Brid. Reservoir Hill, 

 Llandrindod Wells, ft. Llanyre. R. hetero- 

 sti chum Brid. Llandrindod Old Church. R.lanu- 

 ginosum Brid. Walls, Llandrindod. 1,000 ft. R. 

 canescens Brid. Llandrindod Common. 



Hedn-igia ciliata Ehrh. Lovers' Leap, Llan- 

 drindod Wells. 



Tortula muralis Hedw. Rhayader, ft. Alpine 

 Bridge, ft. T. intermedia Berk. Abbey Cwm 

 Hir. T. ruralis Ehrh. Llandrindod Old Church. 



Barbula rubella Mitt. Alpine Bridge. ft. 

 Walls, Llandrindod Wells. 1,000 ft. B. fallax 

 Hedw. Llandrindod Wells. B. nnguiculata Hedw. 

 Abbey Cwm Hir. 



Weisia rnpestris C. M. Alpine Bridge. 



Aulacomnium palvstre Schwgr. Marshy ground, 

 Llandrindod. 



Bartramia pomiformis Hedw. Llandrindod 

 Wells, ft. 



Webera albicans Schp. Llandrindod. 



Br yum pendulum Schp. Alpine Bridge. ft. 

 B. cap'tllare L. Llandrindod Old Church, ft. 

 Abbey Cwm Hir. 



Mnium undulatum L. Disserth. M. hornum L. 

 Llandrindod Wells. M.punctatum L. Llandrin- 

 dod Wells. 



Fontinalis antipyretica L. Shaky Bridge, Cefn. 



Thuidium tamariscinum B. and S. Llandrindod 

 Wells. 



