Setley Common, Roydon Woods NR, Hampshire, Tuesday, 30th December 2014
This meeting was held at Setley Common in Hampshire Wildlife Trust’s Roydon Woods nature reserve, to mark the near completion of the field work phase of the New Forest Heathland Lichen Survey (NFHLS). The area has some old woodland as well as heathland and is former common off the open New Forest grazings. We met at 10.30 at the pulling in on the side road to Brockenhurst just off the A337 opposite the Filly Inn at SU302002.
Attending were Nichola Bacciu, Phil Budd, Andy Cross, Ginnie Copsey, Sara Cadbury, Lisa Malter and Mathew Prince, with Neil Sanderson leading. The weather was frosty to start with, with conditions not looking promising at the car park on the open Forest where there was a strong ground frost. We crossed the main road and down the bridleway north of Setley Common. Here I half thought about turning north to look at the more extensive old woods there because of the frost, but turned left to check out the heath. Once through the pines, however, the view over the heathland showed a curiously frost free scene.
SU3000
We started in 1km square, in dry heath (H2a), first recording a Scots Pine stump in the edge of the heathland, with a magnificent growth of Cladonia species, and an excellent introduction to Cladonia:
Stump (SU309 001):
Cladonia cervicornis s. str.
Cladonia cryptochlorophaea KC + Purple
Cladonia floerkeana
Cladonia ochrochlora
Cladonia polydactyla var. polydactyla
Cladonia portentosa
Cladonia ramulosa
Lichen rich stump
The heath beyond the pines, proved to be a moderately browsed open stand with a high lichen cover and a good diversity, with Reindeer Mosses prominent, including Cladonia portentosa, Cladonia ciliata var. ciliata and Cladonia ciliata var. tenuis. There was also some fine material of Cladonia gracilis. An odd looking thing proliferating from a regular cup, proved just to be Cladonia squamosa var. subsquamosa.
Species seen about SU309 001:
Cladonia portentosa
Cladonia coniocraea
Cladonia cryptochlorophaea
Cladonia cervicornis s. str.
Cladonia polydactyla var. polydactyla
Cladonia ciliata var. ciliata
Cladonia gracilis
Cladonia furcata subsp. furcata
Cladonia squamosa var. subsquamosa
Cladonia ciliata var. tenuis
Cladonia ramulosa
Lichen rich heath
Turning along the slope to the west, a partly sunken track way side supported magnificent Cladonia material, especially Cladonia gracilis. Also added here were Cladonia macilenta and Cladonia floerkeana and a contorted clump of Cladonia grayi s. lat. (the adjacent healthy material was Cladonia cryptochlorophaea) with an apparent fungal infection was collected (SU30926 00181). This proved to have galls formed around the conidiomata, with conidia 1 septate, 8 – 9 x 2.5µm: Epicladonia sandstedei [NS]. This fungus is exclusive to Cladonia species but infects a wide range of species. It is widely recorded in the uplands but appears rare in the lowlands and this was only the second record from the New Forest heaths during the NFHLS.
Added species (SU3092 0018):
Cladonia floerkeana
Cladonia macilenta
Epicladonia sandstedei [NS]
Cladonia grayi s. lat. infected by Epicladonia sandstedei & Cladonia gracilis
Exposed black humus on the steepest area of tack bank added a collection of peat crusts:
On bank (SU309 0018):
Placynthiella icmalea
Placynthiella dasaea Nb (NS)
Micarea viridileprosa
Trapeliopsis granulosa
This first patch of heath was a rich area, with 13 Cladonia taxa seen, but rather different from typical forest heath, with many Forest specialist missing, and others such as Cladonia gracilis, Cladonia cervicornis s. str. and Cladonia furcata subsp. furcata more frequent than in typical heath on the open Forest. The wet heath below lacked lichens altogether, even at the transition with dry heath; very different from the open Forest heaths.
Down in the valley bottom (SU308 001), was a mire, where the under recorded bark fungus Mycoglaena myricae Nb (NS) was found on Bog Myrtle Myrica gale, its obligate host and Cladonia furcata subsp. furcata on on a Birch stump, where recent scrub had been felled from the mire. Here a few young Oak trees had been left during the scrub clearance and were recorded, not very interesting, other than an abundance of Schismatomma niveum Nb (IR) on one:
Myrica gale in mire (SU308 001):
Mycoglaena myricae
Birch stump in mire (SU308 001):
Cladonia furcata subsp. furcata
Oaks by mire (SU308 001):
Chrysothrix flavovirens
Cliostomum griffithii
Flavoparmelia caperata
Lecanora chlarotera
Lecanora expallens
Pertusaria amara f. amara
Phlyctis argena
Pyrrhospora quernea
Schismatomma niveum Nb (IR)
A collection of Elixia flexella? from on Birch lignum, at SU30838 00149 ±3m, (also seen on Sallow lignum), was not this and was not a lichen. The spores were 25 – 30 x 5um & 6 – 7 septate, asci 100 x 25um, clavate & thin walled, K/I –: it was Durella connivens. This fungi is is presumably widespread but has no records from southern England in the NBN.
Valley bottom Oaks & Durella connivens
We had lunch by mire, after which the trees in the mire were briefly looked at. These did have the old woodland lichen Mycobilimbia epixanthoides, and some more Durella connivens on lignum but were not very rich. A bog Yew had the local Agyrium rufum on lignum and, oddly, a deer jawbone with nutrient loving lichens jammed in the crook of a branch.
Old Sallow in mire (SU308 001):
Arthonia spadicea
Enterographa crassa
Graphis elegans
Lecanora expallens
Mycobilimbia epixanthoides
Opegrapha sorediifera
Opegrapha vulgata
Phlyctis argena
The mushroom Craterellus (Cantharellus) tubaeformis growing in hollow in old Sallow was odd (but apparently this mushroom may be saprobic? link)
Yew lignum in bog (SU308 001):
Agyrium rufum
Chrysothrix flavovirens
Cladonia coniocraea
Hypogymnia physodes
Hypotrachyna afrorevoluta
Lecanora expallens
Deer jaw bone on Yew on yew (SU308 001):
Physcia adscendens
Xanthoria parietina
On Oak (SU308 001):
Graphis elegans
We then walked west up through the mire. In the past, this area had traces of base enrich flushing but was very over grown by Molinia. Now, with increased grazing, it is much opened up and a well developed base enriched runnel has developed with the brown moss Campylium stellatum frequent. As we climbed up Raven flew over.
Wooded Mire
On the plateau above mire we were back into drier heathland. On the plateau edge was a small area of acid grassland between Gorse bushes included the local parched acid grassland specialist Peltigera canina, along with a few other lichens.
Acid grassland within Gorse stand (SU306 001):
Cladonia cryptochlorophaea
Cladonia furcata subsp. furcata
Cladonia ramulosa
Peltigera canina
Peltigera hymenina
Top of the plateau had humid heath which had been grazed quite short. The diversity was not as high as the first area looked at, the area looked like the heather canopy had been opened up be grazing relatively recently, with a fairly basic Cladonia assemblage.
Plateau heath (SU306 001):
Cladonia coniocraea
Cladonia cryptochlorophaea
Cladonia floerkeana
Cladonia furcata subsp. furcata
Cladonia macilenta
Cladonia portentosa
Cladonia ramulosa
To the south the addition of Cladonia ciliata var. ciliata and var tenuis increased the interest, but best was Phil Budd finding Tiger’s Eye fungi Coltricia perennis, a rare species, in short Heather near Pine at SU30682 00034
Further south heath species (SU306 000):
Cladonia ciliata var. ciliata
Cladonia ciliata var. tenuis
Cladonia portentosa
Epiphytes on Birch (SU306 000):
Fuscidea lightfootii
Parmelia sulcata
Tiger’s Eye Coltricia perennis
SZ3099
In the south western most area of heath we crossed into a new 1km and 10km national grid square. The 1 km square included quite a bit of good open Forest heathland on the New Forest commons to the west, which had already been recorded by the NFHLS at Race Plain (Including a WLG meeting on the 12 July 2012 at Race Plain). The area on Setley Common was similar to the heaths we had just looked at to the north; developing short heath with a quite high lichen cover but not yet a very high diversity. A Pine produced the mainly northern Buellia schaereri, which is uncommon in the south.
South West of Common (SZ307 999):
Cladonia ciliata var. ciliata
Cladonia ciliata var. tenuis
Cladonia cryptochlorophaea
Cladonia furcata subsp. furcata
Cladonia gracilis SX3069 9995
Cladonia humilis in cleared area
Cladonia macilenta
Cladonia polydactyla var. polydactyla (new to square)
Cladonia portentosa
Cladonia scabriuscula SZ3074 9996 (new to square)
Placynthiella uliginosa (new to square)
(New to square indicates a species not seen in SZ3099 on the open Forest grazings)
Ring barked pine (SZ307 999):
Buellia schaereri, collected: brown one septate spores, 8 – 9 x 3um, uniformly thin cell walls
Lecanora confusa
An orange non-lichenised ascomyctetes, growing on humus on a path in an area with bleached Campylopus moss (SZ3061 9996) looked to be interesting. Nicola identified it as a recent understood segregate of Byssonectria fusispora, called Byssonectria terrestris. The former is a widespread species of fire sites, but our taxa is confined to areas on acid soils where large mammalian herbivores have urinated (are not fungi wonderful!). Byssonectria terrestris has the paraphyses tips bent over and wider spores than Byssonectria terrestris. The sources I have seen on the net always refer to deer urine as the substrate, but this and a second collection I subsequently found on the open Forest (7 March 2015 Chibden Bottom) were associated with pony or cattle urine. There were two interesting debates on the net about the species. One is still up at Ascofrance, but the other on the Wild about Britain site has been lost, but the first page can be found on The Wayback Machine but not the bit where the fungi is actually identified! There is also a description of the taxa under the name Thelebolus terrestris at First Nature.
Cladonia humilis & Byssonectria terrestris
Carrying on east around the plateau rim, we briefly looked at the most recent areas of heathland restoration from scrub. These were still poor in lichens, as would be expected. The surviving older heath was too tall and shaded to have any lichens. Another nice little patch of parched acid grassland was found (SZ3101 9988), however, with masses of Peltigera canina and more Cladonia scabriuscula. A neat little frozen Omphalina type mushroom growing among the Peltigera was identified by Nicola as Arrhenia rickenii. There is an Arrhenia which parasitises Peltigera, but this species is associated with moss.
On twigs (SZ307998):
Ramalina farinacea
Ramalina fastigiata
Area of recent heathland restoration (SZ309 998):
Cladonia cryptochlorophaea
Cladonia furcata subsp. furcata
Cladonia humilis
SZ3101 9988 grassland patch:
Cladonia furcata subsp. furcata
Cladonia scabriuscula
Peltigera canina
Peltigera didactyla
Peltigera hymenina
Verrucaria nigrescens f. nigrescens Flint
Acid grassland
We then headed back down to the small dam in the base of the valley. On the way down we looked at an old Oak on a boundary bank of a former field abandoned back to heathland. This had more Schismatomma niveum Nb (IR) along with the under recorded Micarea viridileprosa Nb (NS). Bog Myrtle in the adjacent mire again supported the under recorded specialist fungi Mycoglaena myricae Nb (NS).
Oak on old bank (SZ3098 9993):
Anisomeridium ranunculosporum
Chrysothrix flavovirens lignum
Flavoparmelia caperata
Micarea viridileprosa Nb (NS)
Schismatomma niveum Nb (IR)
Scoliciosporum pruinosum
Usnea cornuta
In mire (SZ309 999):
Mycoglaena myricae
SU3000 & SU3100
Finally down below the dam we had a look at a small patch of surviving old pasture woodland with old Oaks as the light went (from SU3095 0003 to SU3101 0006). This had a significant assemblage of old forest species, with Agonimia octospora NT (NS/IR) and Thelopsis rubella found on the biggest tree (SU3101 0006) with Arthonia vinosa, Lecanographa lyncea Nb (IR), Opegrapha corticola Nb (IR), Pachyphiale carneola, Porina coralloidea Nb (NS/IR), Schismatomma cretaceum Nb (IR) and Schismatomma niveum Nb (IR) recorded on other Oaks.
Oaks to west (SU309 000):
Arthonia pruinata
Arthonia spadicea
Arthonia vinosa
Chrysothrix candelaris
Lecanographa lyncea Nb (IR) parasitised by Milospium graphideorum [NS]
Normandina pulchella
Opegrapha corticola Nb (IR) on Ivy stem
Pachyphiale carneola
Pertusaria hymenea
Porina coralloidea Nb (NS/IR)
Schismatomma cretaceum Nb (IR)
Schismatomma decolorans
Schismatomma niveum Nb (IR)
Oaks to the east (SU310 000):
Abrothallus microspermus on Flavoparmelia caperata
Agonimia octospora NT (NS/IR)
Pertusaria hemisphaerica
Thelopsis rubella
Largest Oak below the dam
To see the route taken click on the text below.
We recorded a total of 71 taxa, 24 terricolous and 47 epiphytes (see list). The heathland scored 14 using the Using the Cetrelia, Cladonia & Pycnothelia Index (CCP Index: that is the total numbers of terrestrial Cetrelia, Cladonia & Pycnothelia taxa recorded, this is used to assessed heathland lichen diversity), which would be a rather low score for the open Forest. Generally I would expect a reasonable area of open Forest heath to score over 15 and to be in the twenties. The highest scoring 1km squares are in the low 30s. The area of open Forest, Race Plain, in the same square (SZ3099) as the south west of Setley Common scored 23. There was a distinct lack of open Forest specialities at Setley, such as the fire and disturbance dependant Cladonia strepsilis and Pycnothelia papillaria. We also failed to find an old record of the fire sensitive but shade intolerant Cladonia arbuscula. This was recorded in 1972 by Brian Coppins and Francis Rose from Setley Common. It is still found on Race Plain nearby on the open Forest.However, some species that are uncommon on the Forest such as Cladonia gracilis were locally frequent. In addition Cladonia scabriuscula and Epicladonia sandstedei [NS] are significant species not found on the adjacent open Forest.
The heathland of Setley Common had been long ungrazed but has had grazing restored for sometime. It probably lost the New Forest specialists due to past under grazing and the lack of any controlled burning. It is now developing good short browsed heath locally. It was noted during the New Forest Heathland Lichen Survey that, for the smaller areas of grazed heathland off the open Forest, the dry heaths are inherently likely to become heavily grazed. This is due to the relatively tiny areas of land involved compared to the open Forest. To adequately graze the associated grassland and mire communities requires grazing levels that are likely to lead to short grazed heath developing. In the larger scale grazing of the open Forest, such close grazed, and often lichen rich areas, of heath close to better grazings form zones grading into taller grazed heath beyond, rather than the short grazed heath dominating totally.
The epiphytes included a good selection of old woodland species in the small area of relic old pasture woodland, with 10 scored on the NIEC index (southern oceanic ancient woodland indicators), and included one of the few populations of Agonimia octospora NT (NS/IR) found off the open Forest in Hampshire.
In all we recorded 71 taxa, with one Near Threatened species and seven Notable species, which included four Nationally Scarce species and six International responsibility species.