Ten bryologists were joined by our friends from the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust who kindly arranged permission and parking, and who gave up their Saturday to guide us round the part of the site we were visiting. Woolmer Forest was originally part of a royal hunting forest and was described by Gilbert White in the Natural History of Selbourne. It is currently an active military training site where live firing takes place on most days. The ARC manage the site for conservation, and it is currently home to all our native reptiles and amphibians. It is a large complex of mire, heath, woodland, tracks and disturbed ground. Scrapes have been created and are actively managed for the Natterjack Toad. It was the first (of two) sites in Britain for Protolophozia capitata, found first by Alan Crundwell in 1986, and later in 1997, but not seen since.
We headed first for the mire in the SW corner of SU7933. It rapidly became apparent that progress would be slow, with dense Molinia tussocks interspersed with deep pools. The area was dominated by Sphagnum fallax and Sphagnum palustre, with plenty of Aulacomnium palustre and some patches of Straminergon stramineum. John Norton found some fertile Cephaloziella divaricata and other liverworts included Odontoschisma fluitans and Gymnocolea inflata.
Woolmer Forest wet woodland
Ulota crispa
Heading north into the wet woodland, S.squarrosum and S.fimbriatum started to appear, together with the usual epiphytes including Ulota crispa ss.. It was noticeable that Microlejeunea ulicina was much more common than Myriocoleopsis minutissima, which is unusual for Hampshire. It was with some relief that we managed to clamber out of the mire, battle through gorse, and emerge back on the track. This was quite an interesting habitat with plenty of Brachythecium albicans and B.mildeanum, as well as more base rich areas (presumably due to limestone ballast) with Aloina aloides and Homalothecium lutescens. It was here that Pete Flood found Anthoceros punctatus, his first new VC record for the day.
Anthoceros punctatus growing on the edge of a track
Lunch on the range at Woolmer
We moved into SO7932 as the rifle range was unlocked for us, and after an energetic morning it was time for lunch. The range floor provided an interesting disturbed wet sandy heathy habitat with Pohlia annotina, Pseudephemerum nitidum, Riccia sorocarpa, Scapania irrigua, Solenostoma gracillimum and fertile Cephaloziella hampeana. Lophozia excisa grew in a short eroded turf with tiny rosettes of an unidentifiable Fossombronia. A group of galvanised metal buildings provided the obligatory Bryum pallescens, and it was there on tarmac that John spotted an unusual Syntrichia with a small greenish excurrent nerve. This was later identified as Syntrichia montana var calva, another new VC record for the day and a plant with very few records nationally.
Small patch on old tarmac, Hampshire
The valley mire complex of Cranmer Bottom proved to be richer than the one visited in the morning, although we only really managed to explore the area around SU795328. At first we came across large patches of Sphagnum tenellum growing with S.compactum which appeared to have been partially flooded. S.suspidatum was common in pools and it was amongst the hummocks of S.papillosum that Pete found his second new VC record, Sphagnum medium. Cephalozia connivens, Calypogeia sphagnicola and Kurzia pauciflora were added to the list of liverworts.
As the light was beginning to fade, we headed back through the range for a quick look at the area around the Natterjack Toad scrapes at the eastern edge of SU7832. There were some old concrete structures here which added a few extra species including fruiting Rhynchostegium murale. Around the pools grew some rather stunted Bryum alpinum but we didn’t see the Fossombronia foveolata that I had seen earlier in the year nearby. We were only able to visit a small part of this fascinating site, recording 92 taxa, but had to postpone the hunt for Protolophozia to another day.
Jonathan Sleath
Woolmer Forest, Bordon
