''Ditrichum cornubicum'', commonly known as the Cornish path-moss, is a

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, United Kingdom. First discovered in 1963, on a roadside west of Lanner, Cornwall by

Jean Paton Jean Annette Paton (née Comins or Comyn; born 4 January 1929) is a British botanist, bryologist and botanical illustrator. She has written many books on the bryology of the United Kingdom and the flora of Cornwall, and described several new ...

, it has since been found in two other places within Cornwall. It was published as new to science in 1976.

Distribution, habitat and conservation

In 1963, a local bryologist

, found an unknown specimen at a roadside to the west of Lanner, near

Redruth Redruth ( , ) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. According to the 2011 census, the population of Redruth was 14,018 In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, ...

, in west Cornwall. It was on mine spoil used to surface a small roadside lay-by. It has not been re-found at Lanner but two years later, in 1965 she found the same species at a disused copper mine on the south-east edge of

Bodmin Moor Bodmin Moor () is a granite moorland in north-eastern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in size, and dates from the Carboniferous period of geology, geological history. It includes Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall, and Rough To ...

at Minions. In 1997 David Holyoak found another population nearby at

Crow's Nest A crow's nest is a structure in the upper part of the main mast of a ship or a structure that is used as a lookout point. On ships, this position ensured the widest field of view for lookouts to spot approaching hazards, other ships, or land b ...

. A small population discovered in west

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

is likely to have been an accidental introduction from Cornwall and appears to have disappeared. The entire world population of this species at one time only covered only 0.16msq and it was a focus species within the Back from the Brink conservation project which aimed to halt its decline and stop its extinction. The project created over 500 square metres of new habitat for Cornish Path-moss on the edge of Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, and this new habitat is already being colonised by Cornish Path-moss.

Ecology

Only male plants have been found and reproduction is

asexual Asexual or Asexuals may refer to: *Asexual reproduction **Asexual reproduction in starfish *Asexuality, the lack of sexual attraction to anyone or lack of interest in or desire for sexual activity. **Gray asexuality, the spectrum between asexualit ...

with new plants growing from the leaf axil of

rhizoid Rhizoids are protuberances that extend from the lower epidermal cells of bryophytes and algae. They are similar in structure and function to the root hairs of vascular land plants. Similar structures are formed by some fungi. Rhizoids may be un ...

tubers Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reprod ...

. The moss is intolerant of competition from other plants and grows on compacted, sparsely vegetated ground, usually on or besides old paths, along tracks, occasionally on banks, as well as the crevices of old walls. The soils are

humic Humic substances (HS) are colored relatively recalcitrant organic compounds naturally formed during long-term decomposition and transformation of biomass residues. The color of humic substances varies from bright yellow to light or dark brown lead ...

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...

y, well drained and acid with a pH of 5.5 – 5.8. It likes a metal-rich substrate with concentrations of

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

of 151 – 1400 parts per million (ppm). As the metals slowly leach out of the soil by weathering, other mosses can colonise and out-compete ''D cornubicum''. These mosses include ''

Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus ''Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus'' is a species of moss known as springy turf-moss in the United Kingdom, and square goose neck moss in the United States. It is widespread in Eurasia and North America, and has been introduced to the Southern Hemisphe ...

'' and ''

Ceratodon purpureus ''Ceratodon purpureus'' is a dioicous moss with a color ranging from yellow-green to red. The height amounts to 3 centimeters. It is found worldwide, mainly in urban areas and next to roads on dry sand soils. It can grow in a very wide variety of ...

''.

References

External links

Back from the brink
{{Taxonbar, from=Q17201430 Ditrichaceae Bodmin Moor Endangered plants Endemic flora of England Environment of Cornwall Plants described in 1976