Galleries of Non-flowering Plants

The galleries below show a selection of the non-flowering plants to be found in Selsdon Wood.

We have a booklet entitled "Selsdon Wood Nature Reserve - Its history and Management: Some records of Flora and Fauna" which was produced in 1978 by Jack Penry-Jones on behalf of the Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society. This contains species lists for that year. More recent observations began in 2010, since when most of the photographs have been taken.

Species that have not been photographed in Selsdon Wood are listed in red. If you can find any of them and send us a photograph we would love to hear from you:-)

Non-flowering plants include ferns, mosses and liverworts and are very difficult for amateurs to identify. However we are delighted to report that we were contacted in March 2014 by a Danish biologist, Mogens Holmen, who had visited our wood in February while on a visit to friends in the UK. He supplied a list of  mosses and liverworts that he had identified in Selsdon Wood and corrected all of our original identifications!! After later visits in May 2014, February 2015, October 2015 and February 2018 he added many more identifications and photographs. Sightings or photographs new in 2019 are shown in bold.


We also have a list of bryophyte species observed by E C Wallace in Selsdon Wood on 14th October 1977 in the Penry-Jones booklet (see the full reference at the top of this page) and Mogens did a splendid job of combining the two lists. These show some overlap, but also many differences. Some changes might have taken place in the area, but another reason for many of the differences between Wallace's list and Mogen's is probably, that neither of them represent very detailed surveys.

The complete list of Non Flowering Plants can be accessed and downloaded from the link below and is shown below in sections with photographs of those in black text appearing in the image gallery. Most of these were taken by Mogens on his visits but our own older photographs are also included - now correctly named. These for the most part duplicate those taken by Mogens but also include one earlier FSW photograph. We do not have photos of those in red text.

The "Where" column gives an indication of the type of location in which the moss is found. The various moss-species are all more or less specialized, which is one important reason for the coexisting of so many species in an area such as Selsdon Wood.

(See the field guide from the British Bryological Society at http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/bbs/Activities/BBSFGspac.htm for full descriptions and photographs of most British mosses and liverworts.)

We received a communication in August of 2017 from Margaret Forbes-Hamilton who told us the following:

"Did you know that James Dickson, one of the founders of the RHS, and an expert in mosses, is buried in the churchyard at Sanderstead? His main residence was at Covent Garden, but he bought a house in Croydon in the 1790s. He chose to be buried at All Saints because of his love of the plants in the area. Many of his papers are held in the RHS libraries, and it would be interesting to see if there is any correlation with your latest list. My elderly half sister in NZ is a great (several times) niece of James Dickson. It would be great if you could find out more about his collections and acknowledge him at Selsdon Wood. Not many nature reserves have ties to such important botanists!"

I approached Mogens Holmen - see above - who replied:

I have not been able to find much about James Dickson. I googled e.g. the following, which you already may know: 


'He clearly described several N.European species of mosses and liverworts for the first time (often abbreviated "Dicks." as author). My father, who worked on N.European and Arctic mosses in the 20th Century, no doubt knew about his bryological works, but probably accessed them through university libraries. Some of the species, that Dickson described, are quite widespread, and at least one species - Rhynchostegium confertum - has later been recorded from Selsdon Wood. 

If anyone knows anything further about James Dickinson or has access to any of his papers we would love to hear from you.

Non-flowering Plants Full List.pdf Non-flowering Plants Full List.pdf
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Bryophytes - Mosses & Liverworts

Mosses A-B

---- Amblystegium serpens, Creeping Feather-moss ---- Amblystegium varium (Hygroamblystegium v.), Willow Feather-moss ----

---- Atrichum undulatum, Common Smoothcap ---- Barbula convoluta, Lesser birds's claw beard-moss ---- Barbula unguiculata, Bird’s-claw Beard-moss ----

---- Brachythecium rutabulum, Rough-stalked Feather-moss (2) ---- Brachythecium velutinum (= Brachytheciastrum v), Velvet Feather-moss ----

Bryoerythrophyllum recurvirostrum, Red Beard-moss ---- Bryum argenteum, Silver-moss ---- Bryum capillare, Capillary Thread-moss ----

---- Bryum sp. (perhaps B. caespiticium), Thread-moss (perhaps Tuftet T-m.) ---- Marchantia polymorpha, Common Liverwort ----

  MOSSES C-D

---- Calliergonella cuspidata, Pointed Spear-moss ---- Campyliadelphus chrysophyllus (= Campylium c.), Golden Feather-moss ----

---- Campylopus introflexus, Heath Star Moss ----- Ceratodon purpureus, Redshank ---- Cirriphyllum crassinervum, Beech Feather-moss ----

---- Cirriphyllum piliferum, Hair pointed Feather-moss ---- Cryphaea-heteromalla, Lateral Cryphaea ---- Ctenidium molluscum, Comb-moss ----

---- Dicranella heteromalla, Silky Forklet-moss ---- Dicranoweisia cirrata, Common Pincushion ---- Dicranum scoparium, Broom Fork-moss ----

---- Dicranum montanum (= Orthodicranum montanum), Mountain Fork-moss ---- Didymodon fallax (= Barbula fallax) , False Beard-moss ----

---- Didymodon insulans, Cylindric Beard-moss ---- Didymodon sinuosus (= Oxystegus sinuosus), Wavy Beard-moss ----

MOSSES F-K

---- Fissidens sp., bryoides or incurvus, Lesser or Short-leaved Pocket-moss ---- Fissidens gracilifolius, Narrow-leaved Pocket-moss ----

---- Fissidens taxifolius, Common Pocket-moss ---- Grimmia pulvinata, Grey-cushioned Grimmia ---- 

---- Homalia trichomanoides, Blunt Feather-moss ---- Homalothecium lutescens (Camptothecium lutescens), Yellow Feather-moss ----

---- Homalothecium sericeum, Silky Wall Feather-moss ---- Hypnum cupressiforme, Cypress-leaved Plait-moss ----

---- Hypnum resupinatum, Supine Plait-moss ---- Isothecium alopecuroides (= Isothecium myurum), Larger Mouse-tail Moss ----

---- Isothecium myosuroides, Mouse-tail Moss ---- Kindbergia praelonga (= Eurhynchium praelongum), Common Feather-moss ----

MOSSES M-P

---- Mnium hornum, Swan’s-neck Thyme-moss ---- Neckera complanata, Flat Neckera ---- Orthodontium lineare, Cape Thread-moss ----

---- Orthetrichum lyellii, Lyell’s Bristle-moss ---- Orthotrichum sp.(2 species), Bristle-moss sp. ----

---- Oxyrrhyncium hians (= Eurhynchium swartzii), Swartz’s Feather-moss ----

---- Plagiochila porelloides ---- Plagiomnium undulatum, Hart’s-tongue Thyme-moss ---- Plagiomnium rostratum, Long-beaked Thyme-moss ----

---- Plagiothecium curvifolium, Curved Silk-moss ---- Plagiothecium denticulatum, Dentated Silk-moss ----

---- Plagiothecium nemorale, Woodsy Silk-moss ---- Plagiothecium succulentum, Juicy Silk-moss ----

---- Polytrichastrum formosum (= Polytrichum formosum), Bank Haircap ---- Pohlia melanodon (= Pohlia carnea), Pink-fruited Thread-moss ----

---- Pottia davalliana, Smallest Pottia ---- Pseudocrossidium hornschuchianum,Hornschuch’s Beard-moss ----

---- Pseudoscleropodium purum (= Scleropodium p), Neat Feather-moss ----

MOSSES R-Z

---- Rhizomnium punctatum, Dotted Thyme-moss ---- Rhynchostegiella pumila (= Oxyrrhynchium p.), Dwarf Feather-moss ----

---- Rhynchostegium confertum, Clustered Feather-moss ---- Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus, Springy Turf-moss ----

 Tetraphis pellucida, Pellucid Four-tooth Moss ---- Thamnobryum alopecurum, Fox-tail Feather-moss ----

---- Thuidium tamariscinum, Common Tamarisk-moss ---- Tortula muralis, Wall Screw-moss ---- Zygodon viridissimus, Green Yoke-moss ----

LIVERWORTS

 ---- Frullania dilatata, Dilated Scalewort ---- Lophocoela heterophylla (= Chiloscyphus profundus), Variable-leaved Crestwort -----

---- Lophocolea bidentata (= Chiloscyphus coadunatus), Bifid Crestwort  ---- 

---- Metzgeria furcata, Forked Veilwort (2) ---- Plagiochila asplenioides (= P asplenioides ssp. asplenioides), Greater Featherwort ----

---- Plagiochila porelloides (= P asplenioides ssp. porelloides), Lesser Featherwort ---- Radula complanata, Even Scalewort ---

---- Seligeria calycina (= Seligeria paucifolia), English Rock-bristle ----

Ferns

Thanks to Alison Paul, Curator of Pteridophytes at The Natural History Museum for help with fern identification.

If you can find and identify any others and send us a photograph we would love to hear from you:-)

---- Dryopteris dilatata, Buckler Fern ---- Dryopteris filix-mas, Male Fern ---- Pteridium aquilinum, Bracken ----