ID please of a plant on the west coast of Wales

[bonitin]

Hi,

I would love to know the ID of this plant I met during my trip to the UK in 2009, it grows in abundance on rocks by the sea on the West coast of Wales..
Thanks in advance!

Myriam

[Dorts]

Myriam, it looks to me like a rather dried-up plant of Thrift - Armeria maritima. Usually covered in masses of pink flowers in the summer.
Dorts.

[aeshna5]

I thought it was some sort of bryophyte which I don't know much about. There appears to be some Sedum anglicum as a size comparison in the photo.

[Dorts]

Originally Posted by aeshna5

I thought it was some sort of bryophyte which I don't know much about. There appears to be some Sedum anglicum as a size comparison in the photo.

Yes, I spent some time on this one. Looked at the possibility of it being a moss but couldn't find anything that fits. Certainly a very striking plant. the Sedum means that each rosette of this plant can be no more than an inch or so across! So maybe it's not Thrift.
In the middle of one of the rosette's is a green shoot. So the plant has turned red , and the outer leaves have dried-up.
I have seen this with happen with Thrift, which does have varieties with very small, tight rosette's of leaves, but this plant maybe too small. Mmm. A mystery!
Dorts.

[bonitin]

Thanks for your efforts Dorts and Aeshna!
The rossets were small yes, maybe too small for being Armeria maritima, unless the plants dried up in an early stage before to they could develop bigger..Photos were taken mid July 2009. There were large thrifts of Sedum anglicum too, beautiful!
I have another picture of it where the focus was on Zygaena filipendulae

[Brocakat]

It looks like an example of a bone-dry clump of a species of Moss, to me.

Nice to get the perspective of its size with the Cinnabar Moth.

[Dorts]

Originally Posted by Brocakat

It looks like an exampe of a bone-dry clump of a species of Moss, to me.
Nice to get the perspetive of its size with the Cinnabar Moth.

Yes, I agree. Now we can get a good idea of size I think it is certainly a moss. There are a number of species that may fit, but in this very dried-up state, I am not experienced enough with mosses to make a sensible guess.
Dorts.

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by Brocakat

It looks like an example of a bone-dry clump of a species of Moss, to me.

Nice to get the perspective of its size with the Cinnabar Moth.

Changing course from the plant, it's not a Cinnabar but a 6-spot Burnet Moth!

[bonitin]

Thanks to all! it is appreciated!

[Brocakat]

Originally Posted by aeshna5

Changing course from the plant, it's not a Cinnabar but a 6-spot Burnet Moth!

Thanks for that. I clicked onto photos of them both afterwards - they are certainly different - but similar.
Interesting how they are both poisonous, with the similar colourings.