*1: Chyenhal near
Newlyn, 1863, WC (PNZ) (Paton 1969a:
756).
*2: Brown Willy, 1904,
RWS (TRU) (Paton 1969a:
756).
Grows as low lawns or mixed with other large
bryophytes or small herbs, grasses, etc. Notes on its habitats
in C&S are as follows. Commonest as a grassland weed,
often forming extensive, apparently clonal, pure patches or
grows among short (but not very short) grasses in damp places,
such as grazed unimproved pastures and in mown lawns, and at
edges of paths and tracks, on neutral or moderately acidic
soils, gravels or sands. Recorded in many habitats including
roadside verges, roadside and laneside banks, churchyards,
cemeteries, old quarries, woodland clearings, wet unimproved
pastures, grassy areas and scrub on old mine-spoil and
china-clay spoil (where sometimes an early colonist on bare
areas), edges of heaths, soil among rocks of tors, and many
other grassy places. Most often unshaded or lightly shaded,
but sometimes tolerates (or persists in) moderate shade at
wood edges, in open creekside woodland and in scrub or under
Grey Willows. Nevertheless, R. squarrosus is much
less often found in woodlands than our other two Rhytidiadelphus
species.
In the most acidic heathland regions it is
sometimes restricted to roadsides and other places with some
base enrichment, and there are a few records from turf over
calcareous sand of dunes, but it is generally rare in this
habitat and infrequent in any really base-rich places,
although small amounts have been recorded among other mosses
growing over old concrete. Also recorded in small amounts as
colonist on old tarmac, but more frequent as pioneer on edges
of gravelly and other paths and tracks, on tops or ledges of
boulders, and often plentiful on clayey or gritty china-clay
spoil. Generally rather rare in exposed coastal sites, but
there are several records of it being found in small amounts
in turf on very exposed cliff tops and headlands, including
slopes above Pendeen Cliff and Portheras Cove in West Penwith.
Also on top of low sea-cliff among Gorse at Trefusis
Point.
Very often locally dominant or co-dominant with
short grasses (Agrostis
stolonifera,
Agrostis tenuis) and herbs; commonly also with Calliergonella
cuspidata, Hylocomium
splendens, Hypnum
jutlandicum, Pseudoscleropodium
purum, Thuidium
tamariscinum, also commonly in contact with acrocarpous
mosses and small liverworts.
Single DTH record c.fr. in Cornwall: near
Greensplat, vc2, small patch with near-mature but undehisced
capsules in sheltered but almost unshaded hollow in old
china-clay spoil, 21 Feb. 2002 (apparently just the ordinary
weedy form of this
species).