Sphagnum strictum #moss #bryophyte

A close view of a tiny liverwort bryophyte growing along a slender fallen twig in a damp Devon woodland. The twig runs diagonally across the image and is densely covered by a soft green mat of very small leafy shoots. Each shoot creeps closely along the surface of the wood and hangs slightly over the sides, forming layered fronds only a few millimetres wide. The colony itself is small, about 2 cm across. The leaves are closely packed and overlap like tiny roof tiles. Each leaf is rounded to oval and translucent fresh green, giving the patch a soft luminous appearance in the woodland light. Many leaves show a slight fold or pocket near their base that creates a small forward-facing flap. These pocket-like structures are subtle in the photograph but become clearer when the plant is examined under a microscope. The shoots lie mostly in two flattened rows along the stem, producing a delicate branching pattern that spreads across the twig and drapes slightly over its underside. Beneath the main patch a few slender shoots of a feathery moss hang downward, their thin leaves forming narrow green sprays that contrast with the broader rounded leaves of the liverwort. The background is softly blurred woodland — muted greens and browns suggesting bark, moss, and shaded vegetation. Moisture and shade are implied by the fresh colour and the dense bryophyte growth covering the wood. Under the microscope the leaves reveal hexagonal cells and small pocket-like lobules.

I saw this beautiful little liverwort for the first time today.
I think it may be Micheli’s Least Pouncewort (Lejeunea cavifolia).

It was growing on a fallen twig in woodland in Devon.
The whole patch was only about 2 cm across.

tinyurl.com/lejeunea-cav...

#liverwort #bryophyte

Fantastic to see lovely Mediterranean plants like this Southbya nigrella which just have a toe hold in Britain. I was just as excited when I saw it in Corfu.

Schistochilopsis incisa (Scapaniaceae) growing on a rotting log in N Wales. This liverwort has been reported from every continent except Australasia and Antarctica, but it is polyphyletic, so probably includes multiple undescribed species with smaller ranges. @bbsbryology.bsky.social

Sphagnum austinii with green and red S. rubellum #moss #bryophyte

Happy to find, again, the thalloid liverwort OXYMITRA INCRASSATA, near Begur (NE Spain), at the same place where I found it 20 years ago. #bryophytes #liverworts

Upright stems and a yellow-green colour make it stand out against darker mosses on the forest floor

Ptilium crista-castrensis

Ostrich plume feather moss is definitely a species where the English name sticks better than the binomial!

An easy example for recognising a pinnately-branched (once divided) structure, similar to simple ferns 🌿

#bryophytes #moss
#ukbotany #uknature
#nature

This study presents an integrative, worldwide infrageneric classification of Lejeunea, one of the most species-rich liverwort genera with ~375 species. Two subgenera and 15 sections are recovered by combining morphology with molecular phylogenetics.

➡️ doi.org/10.5091/plec...

A warning to those who go killing the moss
Your Karma will come, because Nature Is Boss
You will also incite The Bryologist’s Curse,
which will make the whole business considerably worse!

Little Paxton Pits yesterday. Drepanocladus aduncus at pool edge- a rain fed ephemeral pond.

Bright green moss (bryophyte) growing in a damp, semi-shaded woodland swamp on a rotting log near a brook. The shoots are flattened and glossy, approximately 50 mm long and up to about 7 mm wide, looking almost as if pressed in a flower book. Leaves are large for a moss (around 1.5–3 mm), oval with blunt tips, translucent, and without a central nerve (costa). Under the microscope the leaf cells are unusually large and easy to see. Several dark, stout spore capsules were present. Under the microscope one capsule (spore case) had lost its lid and showed a neat ring of curved outer teeth with finer inner structures just inside (a double peristome). Initially mistaken for a leafy liverwort because of its flat appearance, but under the microscope tiny leaves could be seen arranged around the stem, it was not as two-dimensional as it first appeared. #moss #bryophyte

Bright green moss (bryophyte) growing in a damp, semi-shaded woodland swamp on a rotting log near a brook. The shoots are flattened and glossy, approximately 50 mm long and up to about 7 mm wide, looking almost as if pressed in a flower book. Leaves are large for a moss (around 1.5–3 mm), oval with blunt tips, translucent, and without a central nerve (costa). Under the microscope the leaf cells are unusually large and easy to see. Several dark, stout spore capsules were present. Under the microscope one capsule (spore case) had lost its lid and showed a neat ring of curved outer teeth with finer inner structures just inside (a double peristome). Initially mistaken for a leafy liverwort because of its flat appearance, but under the microscope tiny leaves could be seen arranged around the stem, it was not as two-dimensional as it first appeared. #moss #bryophyte

It was worth standing in a swamp half-way up my wellies to see this, Shining Hookeria (Hookeria lucens).

I made the classic beginner’s mistake of thinking it was a liverwort at first. It’s actually a beautiful moss.

tinyurl.com/2ufm4tnj

Isn't the Lewinskya a debracketing for Cumberland?

Looks quite big. Maybe Plagiochila asplenioides?

A common, but beautiful species: Funaria hygrometrica Hedw., with young sporophytes.

Location: Santa Caterina valley, Montgrí massif, 80 m. a.s.l., province of Girona, NE Spain. Growing on disturbed soil next to an artificial pond, February 2026.

#bryophytes #mosses

Sphagnum cuspidatum portrait #moss #bryophyte

Marble Screw-moss (Syntrichia papillosa) growing abundantly on old blackthorn (?) branches. Found in the same location as the last post. 🌱

Close up inspection of the leaves clearly shows the gemmae (which are apparently baby mosses!) on the leaves.

@bbsbryology.bsky.social

#mosses #bryophytes

Neat little cushion of Orthotrichum tenellum

Two cushions of Orthotrichum tenellum on street tree

Leaf of Orthotrichum tenellum under the microscope

Another street tree epiphyte that's becoming more common in London - Orthotrichum tenellum forms small neat cushions with notably long capsules and calyptra. The leaf tips also have a distinctive beak at the end. Another bryophyte taking advantage of the cleaner air!

One or two recent mosses from Felbrigg - Revolute Beard-moss (Pseudocrossidium revolutum), Elegant Silk-moss (Pseudotaxiphyllum elegans), Aloe Haircap capsules (Pogonatum aloides) & Swan's-neck Thyme-moss (Mnium hornum) @norfolknats.bsky.social

Four common #mosses from my area (Kicin, western Poland): Plagiomnium affine, Polytrichum formosum, Atrichum undulatum, and Dicranum cf. scoparium.
#mchy #Bryophyta #bryophytes #mszaki #bryology #mossfriends

Sphagnum quinquefarium orange and red variants #moss #bryophyte

Frullania dilatata. Kicin, Wielkopolska (western Poland).
#liverworts #wątrobowce #Marchantiophyta #Bryophytes #mszaki #bryology

Platydictya jungermanoides, growing infront of two Caves in the Wye valley Gorge last Saturday, lovely species and habitat @bbsbryology.bsky.social

Platydictya jungermanoides,purple Rhizoids in last pic.

Marchesinia mackaii (MacKay's Pouncewowort) or rock treacle as I call it,on the Limestone Outcrops in the Wye valley Gorge last weekend @bbsbryology.bsky.social

Anomodon longifolius (Long-leaved Tail-moss) on the Carboniferous limestone outcrops at Lady park wood in the Wye valley Gorge last Saturday @bbsbryology.bsky.social

Size difference between Anomodon longifolius (top) & Anomodon viticulosus (bottom) .

Detall de la càpsula de GRIMMIA PULVINATA, fotografiada a la Plana d'Ancosa. #briòfits #molses

Tortula protobryoides

Seligeria calycina

Bryum torquescens

Lovely day out in North Hants today in the company of @pilkyplant.bsky.social , Billy from @hantsbic.bsky.social and others at Ladle Hill. Very few records for bryophytes before but there was plenty of interest including Tortula protobryoides, Seligeria calycina and Bryum torquescens.

𝘍𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 Hedw.

📍 Río Eifonso