In winter, it's the smaller things that tend to capture your attention on country walks - like, for example, this miniature garden of mosses, lichens and fungi growing on top of a drystone wall at Stanhope in Weardale. In the space of a few square inches there are toadstools (haven't identified the species yet - can anyone help me out with some suggestions?); at least four species of moss; at least three species of lichen. If you really got to work with a hand lens I suspect you could probably double the biodiversity count for this tiny patch .......... and if you resorted to using a microscope, who knows how many! Below are two of the larger ones that I think I can identify.....
This (I think) is an Orthotrichum species although I'm not certain yet which one..... most probably O.anomalum.
..... and his, with the distinctive hair-point extensions to the leaves and capsules that curl downwards into the moss cushion, is Grimmia pulvinata (with another moss on either side of it and Orthotrichum anomalum at the top and bottom).
It's a long time since I last tried to identify moss species.....................
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