Timmia megapolitana Hedwig, 1801

Wheatfen Broad, part of the Ted Ellis Nature Reserve within the Yare Broads and Marshes SSSI, where Bob Ellis first found it in 2000 is still the only British site for this moss. It occurs on willow branches lying on bare mud in carr woodland where tidal flows mean that it can be under water for a number of days. The nearest population to that at Wheatfen, is in the Netherlands where it grows in similar conditions. Although found, so far, in only two adjacent 2 km grid squares, the Norfolk population is estimated at well over two million individual plants. Given concerns about Timmia megapolitana elsewhere in Europe, the population here appears to be of high conservation importance.

Text: Mary Ghullam