NT18: Aberdour loop, NT1884

Presented with a two hour window of free time yesterday I headed for a square not botanised this year, but also carrying a tray and sieve. 

The botanical haul in NT1884 was fairly routine, but gave a reasonable account of the square in February. Perhaps not enough woodland/arable covered as I skirted the coast and golf course. I found a lovely marshy area which will require further bothering for invertebrates later in the year, but which already delivered on a brief prodding.

I found this Leistus fulvibarbis under the loose bark of a large log, under which was a nest belonging to a quickly-escaping small mammal. I hope it returned happily after I left.

The marshy area held a few Stenus, including S.bimaculatus, which was only new to Fife from Cullaloe a couple of years back.

Finally looking at other habitats than tussocks I had a bit of a seaweed shake and found Cafius xantholinus and Omalium laeviusculum. The latter appears new to me, though I can't quite believe that. Must have forgotten to write it down at some point, surely.

Cafius

Omalium

Last night I found something even more intriguing on the Cafius - a Laboulbeniomycete, which appears to be the host-specific Laboulbenia littoralis, only described in 2014. That requires some more confirmation (though I'm claiming it!) as it doesn't yet appear on NBN. The species is known from Belgium and France, the locations under consideration in the original 2014 description. I have a sneaking suspicion that I remember a Laboulbeniomycete new to Britain was documented by Mark Telfer in the recent past. It couldn't be this one, could it? (no - it was on a millipede). It looks like this:

a femur-full

mature fungus, spores escaping at the tip

In order to complete my loop I had to wander out and in of my 1k square, which threw me into a street full of Mind-your-own-business. This is a plant scarce in Fife, and previously known from the St.Andrews area. Since the start of the year, this is the 2nd location in NT18 that I've found it running wild.

A small sample of far more extensive cover. 

New plants for the year in NT18 were Veronica beccabunga (Brooklime), Hypericum tetrapterum (Square-stalked St.John's Wort) and Iris pseudacorus (Yellow Flag Iris).Current total 283.