Ditrichum cornubicum
Ditrichum cornubicum, commonly known as the Cornish path-moss, is a moss endemic to Cornwall, United Kingdom. First discovered in 1963, on a roadside west of Lanner, Cornwall by Jean Paton, it has since been found in two other places within Cornwall. It was published as new to science in 1976.
Distribution, habitat and conservation
In 1963, a local bryologist Jean Paton, found an unknown specimen at a roadside to the west of Lanner, near Redruth, in west Cornwall. It was on mine spoil used to surface a small roadside lay-by. It has not been re-found at Lanner but two years later, in 1965 she found the same species at a disused copper mine on the south-east edge of Bodmin Moor at Minions. In 1997 David Holyoak found another population nearby at Crow's Nest. A small population discovered in west Cork, Ireland is likely to have been an accidental introduction from Cornwall and appears to have disappeared. The entire world population of this species at one time only covered only 0.16msq and it was a focus species within the Back from the Brink conservation project which aimed to halt its decline and stop its extinction.The project created over 500 square metres of new habitat for Cornish Path-moss on the edge of Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, and this new habitat is already being colonised by Cornish Path-moss.