Identification notes
Bryum archangelicum is the name used in the current Census Catalogue for the species known as Bryum inclinatum in Smith’s Flora and Ptychostomum inclinatum in David Holyoak’s European Bryaceae. It is not very frequently recorded as like many Bryum species it does require mature capsules to make a confident identification. It is typically encountered on open bare disturbed sandy or calcareous ground such as quarries, coastal sand and gravel pits, but can be found on rocks and old buildings. Capsules are found in spring and summer, and are rather attractive with a long neck and darker zone of maturing spores towards the mouth.
The leaves have an excurrent nerve and a variably recurved margin with a usually well defined border. There is usually some trace of red at the base although several leaves may have to be examined. Like a number of related species, the inflorescence is synoicous. The characteristic feature of the peristome is that the cilia are short or rudimentary. You may need to examine more than one peristome to convince yourself that the cilia have not simply fallen off. Beware the split endostome process that can sometimes look like an appendiculate cilium.
In sandy coastal habitats such as the edge of saltmarsh there is a small but thrilling chance that the plants could be the very rare Bryum salinum, which has small perforations along some of the exostome teeth. It is more likely that it would be confused with Bryum algolvicum, which is a commoner plant and has irregular banding of the exostome. Bryum pallescnes has similar leaves but is typically associated with galvanised metal structures and has well developed cilia.
