Dry and warm

A high pressure weather system has been lurking to the south of Ireland for a few days, bringing some dry and warm weather. This morning was bright and warm, so I dashed off to a likely spot to see what I could find. An inspection of the stream bank revealed hundreds of Lesser Celandines in bud, and a single flower which is - to all intents and purposes - open:

Lesser Celandine

And right beside it, a single specimen of Creeping Buttercup in flower:

Creeping Buttercup

A nearby boggy area revealed Ivy-leaved Water Crowfoot in bud:

Ivy-leaved Water Crowfoot in bud

And Brooklime making strong green growth:

Brooklime

Further along the hedgerow I found a couple of specimens of Tubaria furfuracea, which is a Hawthorn associate:

Tubaria furfuracea

And Gorse in flower:

Gorse

Whilst examining a wall for mosses (more of those later) I spotted a few Snowdrops with open flowers:

Snowdrop

Well done to anybody spotting the small fly on the flower sheath!

Mosses are truly beautiful in all their parts, especially when they have sunlight to brighten them up. Yes, they are very small, but if you 'get down to their size', both physically and metaphorically, you will find beauty that is almost beyond belief.

This shot shows three specimens of Tortula muralis:

Tortula muralis

Here's a close-up of the maturing spore capsules:

Capsules of Tortula muralis

I'm convinced those setae (the 'stalks' of the capsules) are light pipes that transfer light directly down into the dark parts of the mosses.

Grimmia pulvinata has globular capsules that never emerge much beyond the leaf tips:

Grimmia pulvinata, showing hidden capsules

Bryum capillare has 'nodding head' capsules on long setae:

Bryum capillare capsules

Is this really early January, or did I miss a couple of months?

Stirrings

I thought I would take a look at the likely suspects today and found encouraging signs that our wildlife is at least having a try at this early point of the year.

A single Snowdrop was just opening; the rest were still firmly closed.

And a single Lesser Celandine bud had appeared:

The closely-related Ivy-leaved Water Crowfoot has started to come into growth on the muddy entrance to the field:

The jelly fungus Tremella mesenterica, or Witches Butter, appears to grow on dead Gorse branches, but in fact it's parasitic on the almost-invisible crusting fungus Peniophora incarnata, which grows on dead Gorse: 

This stacked dependency is a recurring theme in our wildlife: without the Gorse there would be no Peniophora and without the Peniophora there would be no Mesenterica. When you consider that Gorse is also the specific host for some moths, beetles and other fungi, you begin to see that removal of one species can have a significant impact on the whole series of its dependent species.

I also spotted the Hawthorn associate Tubaria furfuracea:

Award yourself bonus points if you can identify the leaf to the left of the image.

A little sun

The first frogspawn is about 3 weeks later than it was in the last couple of years. What amazes me is that the first spawn is always in this high exposed area.

Lesser Celandine - Ranunculus ficaria - has been budding for about 4 weeks, but this is the first open one I found:

As soon as the leaves develop, the fungal rust Puccinia ranunculi appears:


Staying with fungi, Tubaria furfuracea is to be found under Hawthorns for much of the year:


And the fungus Milesina scolopendrii has been attacking leaves of Hart's tongue fern.

More signs of spring

Leaves have appeared on the Elder. The local name for Elder is 'bo-tree' or 'boo-tree', emphasis on the first syllable, the ee very short.


These embryonic shoots of Hartstongue Fern look like tiny hairy animals. In fact, I think that all early stages of ferns look slightly animal-like:


I thought this 'inside shot' of the Lesser Celandine flower looked interesting:


Not a sign of spring, since I can find Tubaria furfuracea throughout much of the year. This is associated with Hawthorn. Cap about 12mm across.

And just to show that new species can be found at any time of the year: The fungal infection Hormotheca robertiani, on Herb Robert:


Said to be common, but I've never seen it before.