Acrocarpous moss - Plantlife

LIVERWORTS 

Above - Left: a thallose liverwort, Overleaf Pellia (Pellia 

epiphylla) with fruits; right: a leafy liverwort with round 

leaves, Autumn Flapwort (Jamesoniella autumnalis). 

Abbreviations 

Further information 

Books 

British Mosses and liverworts: a field guide. British Bryological Society (2010). 

The first comprehensive colour field guide to bryophytes with good keys and hundreds of photos. 

Mosses and Liverworts; Gordon Rothero (2005). A brief, general introduction to Scottish bryophytes, 

part of the ‘Naturally Scottish’ series published by Scottish Natural Heritage, Battleby. 

Bryophytes of native woods – a field guide to common mosses and liverworts of Scotland’s native woods. 

Carol L Crawford (2002), Native Woodlands Discussion Group. A small booklet with good colour photos. 

Mosses and Liverworts. New Naturalist 97, Porley RD & Hodgetts NG, (2005). Collins. 

An accessible account of our bryophyte heritage with a good section on woodlands. 

The geographical relationships of British and Irish bryophytes; Hill MO & Preston CD (1998). Journal of Bryology, 20: 127-226. 

Information and advice 

www.britishbryologicalsociety.org.uk. The British Bryological Society has an excellent 

website with useful information on publications, courses, field meetings and lots of pictures. 

www.nwdg.org.uk. The Native Woodland Discussion Group runs courses on Atlantic mosses and liverworts. 

Advice and Support 

Plantlife Scotland can help you in your quest for information and support. 

Plantlife Scotland, Balallan House, Allan Park, Stirling, FK8 2QG 

Tel: +44 (0) 1786 478509 www.plantlife.org.uk Scotland@plantlife.org.uk 

© March 2010 ISBN 978-1-907141-23-2 

Plantlife Scotland is part of Plantlife International – the Wild Plant Conservation charity, a charitable company limited by guarantee. 

Registered in Scotland (SC038951) and in England and Wales (1059559). Registered company no 3166339. 

This guide has been written and illustrated for Plantlife Scotland by Gordon Rothero 

All photos © Gordon Rothero, unless otherwise stated. Cover photo © Laurie Campbell. 

Key features for identifying 

liverworts 

Growth form. There are two sorts of liverworts; leafy 

liverworts have a stem and leaves and resemble a 

moss, whereas thallose or thalloid liverworts have a 

simple strap of tissue with no stem or leaves. Leafy 

liverworts can form erect cushions and turfs while some 

are creeping and closely apressed to rock or tree. The 

size of the plant is also important; a number of oceanic 

liverworts are very, very small. 

Leaf shape. This is all-important in leafy liverworts and 

is much more variable than in mosses. Liverwort leaves 

can be simple and round, they can be deeply divided 

into filaments or into broader lobes, the lobes can be 

of different sizes and can be bent over or under each 

other and formed into flaps or pouches. Many liverworts 

also have pronounced teeth on the margin of the leaf, 

visible without a hand lens. Many leafy liverworts also 

have under-leaves, usually much smaller than the main 

leaves, and on the lower side of the stem. 

Photoset Left - A variety of leafy liverwort leaves, clockwise 

from top left: Taylor’s Flapwort (Mylia taylori), Prickly 

Featherwort (Plagiochila spinulosa), Ciliated Fringewort 

(Ptilidium ciliare), White earwort (Diplophyllum albicans - 

note upper lobe bent over the top of the lower and the line 

of longer cells), Common Paw-wort (Barbilophozia floerkei), 

Bifid Crestwort (Lophocolea bidentata), Creeping Fingerwort 

(Lepidozia reptans), part of stem with ‘fingered’ leaves. 

NR – nationally rare; NS – nationally scarce; RDL – Red Data List 2001; S8 – listed on Schedule 8 of 

the Wildlife and Countryside Act. Oceanic indicates that this is an oceanic species as defined by Hill 

and Preston (1998). 

MOSSES 

Above - Left: acrocarpous Scott’s Fork moss (Dicranum 

scottianum) ; right: pleurocarpous Larger Mouse-tail 

Moss (Isothecium alopecuroides). 

Above - Irregular branching in Red-stemmed Feathermoss 

(Pleurozium schreberi) on the left and regular 

tri-pinnate branching in Glittering Wood-moss 

(Hylocomium splendens) on the right; note the red stems. 

Photoset above - A variety of moss-leaf shapes, clockwise 

from top left: Dotted Thyme-moss (Rhizomnium 

punctatum), Catherine’s Moss (Atrichum undulatum), 

Little Shaggy-moss (Rhytidiadelphus loreus), Yellow 

Fringe-moss (Racomitrium aciculare), Common Striated 

Feather-moss (Eurhynchium striatum), Cypress-leaved 

Plait-moss (Hypnum cupressiforme). 

Moss or liverwort? 

Key features for identifying 

Mosses 

Growth form. Leaving aside the very distinctive bogmosses 

(Sphagnum), mosses can be split into two 

groups, acrocarpous and pleurocarpous. There is a 

technical difference between these two forms but in 

practical terms, acrocarps usually have erect stems 

and grow in cushions or turfs while pleurocarps tend 

to grow with main stems parallel to the ground (or rock 

or tree trunk) and form wefts. The often dense growth 

form of acrocarps means that their sparse branches 

are obscured while in pleurocarps the branches are 

usually many and easily seen. 

Branching. For some of the pleurocarps it is useful 

to note what the pattern of branching looks like. Is 

it regular with branches more or less opposite each 

other on the main stem (pinnate) or irregular? Are 

the regular branches branched again (bi-pinnate) and 

again (tri-pinnate) giving a fern-like structure? 

Colour. Colour and texture are all-important field 

characters. Many species have a particular shade, 

admittedly usually of green, which coupled with 

the structure of stem and leaf, gives a texture which 

is what the eye picks up from a distance. Another 

important colour is that of the main stem; when 

the leaves are dry they become opaque and it may 

be necessary to scrape away some leaves with your 

fingernail to see the stem colour. 

Leaf shape. Moss leaves have a variety of shapes but 

they tend to be variations on the same theme, with 

a relatively broad base tapering to a narrower apex. 

Some leaves are long and narrow and taper to a fine 

point, others have a broad triangular shape tapering 

shortly to a sharp point. Other mosses have leaves 

with a blunt apex and a few species have round leaves. 

Another useful character is whether or not the leaves 

are all curved in the same direction (falcate) or bent 

back from the stem (reflexed or squarrose). Some 

leaves also have teeth on the margin, usually visible 

only with a hand lens. 

Nerve (or costa). A very useful character is whether 

the moss leaf has a nerve or not. The nerve (or costa) 

is a thickened rib of tissue running up the centre of 

the leaf which looks like a dark line if the leaf is held 

against the light and viewed with the hand-lens. It 

usually extends beyond halfway up the leaf and may 

reach the apex. 

Initially this is a tricky question but with a little experience it ceases to be a problem. Thallose liverworts are 

easy but leafy liverworts can be passed over as mosses by the uninitiated. In most mosses the leaves grow all 

around the stem but in most liverworts the main leaves are in two ranks down each side of the stem, sometimes 

with a line of smaller under-leaves below. Most moss leaves are roughly triangular, wide at the base and narrow 

to the apex; few liverworts are like that. Moss leaves never have lobes whereas many leafy liverworts do. Most 

mosses with round leaves have a nerve; no leafy liverworts have a nerve but a few have lines of cells running up 

the centre of the leaf. 

MOSSES 

Curve-leaved Bow-moss (Dicranodontium uncinatum) Woolly Fringe-moss (Racomitrium lanuginosum) 

Oceanic, NS. Acrocarpous moss; size: large and usually 

forming loose cushions within the heath; branching: 

obscured; colour: usually a shiny, dark green; stem: often 

reddish; leaves: very narrowly triangular, tapering to a very 

long, fine point which is formed mostly from the broad 

nerve; habitat: in lower stands of the heath, especially 

where rocky or below crags; note: two very similar species 

Beaked Bow-moss (Dicranodontium denudatum) and 

Orange Bow-moss (Dicranodontium asperulum) also occur 

in oceanic heath. 

Bog-moss; size: medium sized and forming swelling 

cushions or hummocks of erect stems but in the oceanic 

heath usually as a loose turf under the heather; branching: 

a bunch of tight branches at the top of the stem (capitulum) 

and whorls of branches at intervals below; colour: often 

red but in the oceanic heath more frequently green with 

varying amounts of red; leaves: branch leaves are narrowly 

triangular; habitat: an abundant and locally dominant 

plant in hilly areas in both mire and heath; note: other 

species of Sphagnum occur in this community but this is 

the most frequent species. 

Acrocarpous moss; size: large and usually forming 

sprawling patches; branching: unlike most acrocarpous 

mosses, there are frequent irregular branches; colour: 

usually grey when dry and blackish-green when wet; 

stem: green; leaves: narrowly triangular, tapering to a long, 

toothed white ‘hair-point’; habitat: an abundant and locally 

dominant plant in hilly areas, on rocks and in mire and 

heath; note: an important and unmistakeable component 

of our upland vegetation and a constant in oceanic heath. 

Red Bog-moss (Sphagnum capillifolium) Skye Bog-moss (Sphagnum skyense) 

Oceanic, NR. Bog-moss; size: large, twice the size of 

Red Bog-moss (Sphagnum capillifolium), and forming 

loose patches in the turf; branching: a bunch of long 

branches at the top of the stem (capitulum) giving an 

untidy appearance and whorls of long branches below; 

colour: often red or pink but with some variegated green ; 

leaves: branch leaves are narrowly triangular ; habitat: in 

grassy heath and often associated with Juniper Prongwort 

(Herbertus aduncus ssp. hutchinsiae), and Carrington’s 

Featherwort (Plagiochila carringtonii); note: the size, 

colour, long branches and habitat are useful characters; 

outside of the west of Scotland only known from one site in 

Wales and one in Ireland. 

Bryophytes of 

Scotland’s oceanic heath 

British Lichen Society

Introduction 

This Plantlife field guide will help those who want to 

go a little further in identifying the carpets of mosses 

and liverworts that make our western hills such 

special places. This guide deals with species making 

up Scotland’s oceanic heath, a globally rare plant 

community. 

What are mosses and liverworts? 

Mosses and liverworts (collectively known as 

bryophytes) are two of the oldest groups of land plants 

and have had millions of years to evolve a variety of 

species that have colonised almost all habitats apart 

from the sea. Most have a simple structure with a 

main stem and more or less frequent branches covered 

in leaves. They do not have roots but absorb water 

and minerals directly into the (usually) single layer of 

cells in the leaves. Most bryophytes are some shade 

of green but the liverworts in Scotland’s oceanic heath 

are usually strongly coloured, ranging from yellow and 

orange, through to reds and purples, to almost black. 

What is Scotland’s oceanic heath? 

Oceanic heath is a neglected habitat of global 

importance. Heather and blaeberry are major 

components but what makes oceanic heath special 

is its ground layer of mosses that only thrive in the 

oceanic climate of the hills in the west of Scotland. 

This ground layer is also home to a diverse flora of 

large leafy liverworts that have a highly restricted 

global distribution. These rare liverwort species 

normally occur alongside more common species, such 

as Woolly Fringe-moss (Racomitrium lanuginosum), 

Red Bog-moss (Sphagnum capillifolium) and 

more widespread liverworts like Taylor’s Flapwort 

(Mylia taylori) and Orkney Notchwort (Anastrepta 

orcadensis). 

This habitat is also known as ‘Scottish liverwort heath’, 

the ‘Northern hepatic mat’ or the ‘oceanic-montane 

heath’. 

Why is Scotland’s oceanic heath important? 

Oceanic heath is globally rare. In Europe, it is only 

well-developed in Western Scotland, western Ireland 

and, to a much more limited extent, in SW Norway. 

Globally, some of the same species occur in a similar 

community above the tree line in the Sino-Himalaya 

and North-west America. 

Most of the constituent liverwort species have a 

remarkably disjunct global distribution. For example 

Cloud Earwort (Scapania nimbosa), also occurs in W 

Ireland (rare), SW Norway (one site) Nepal, Sikkim and 

Yunnan. The community is also so limited in its UK 

distribution that most species are nationally scarce 

and some are nationally rare. Northern Prongwort 

(Herbertus borealis) is limited to just one site in 

Europe on Beinn Eighe and Lindenberg’s Featherwort 

(Adelanthus lindenbergianus) has one site on Islay 

(elsewhere in Europe only in W Ireland). We are still 

finding out more about this remarkable community, 

with molecular work revealing two new species in the 

past few years. 

Where to look for the oceanic heath 

This habitat has a patchy distribution from Islay in 

the south, up the west coast to Ben Hope, including 

hills in the Hebrides with more limited outposts on 

Orkney and Shetland. There are also isolated stands 

further east on the larger hills extending to the main 

Cairngorms. Most sites are on N or NE-facing slopes 

from 200m up to 900m where rain falls in excess of 

200 days in a year. 

The majority of Scotland’s oceanic heath occurs on 

moderate to steep slopes with an aspect from NW 

through to NE, almost always where there are some 

exposed rocks and frequently where the heath has 

developed over large block scree. A number of the 

lower level sites are quite grassy, with only residual 

amounts of heather but such sites probably represent 

relicts that were formerly dominated by ericaceous 

shrubs and altered by subsequent management. 

They usually have frequent Juniper Prongwort 

(Herbertus aduncus ssp. hutchinsiae) but only patchy 

stands of other species. The higher sites, where 

blaeberry is dominant and where Donn’s Notchwort 

(Anastrophyllum donnianum) and Alpine Notchwort 

(Anastrophyllum alpinum) can occur, are subject 

to long periods of snow-lie which may give some 

protection from frost. 

‘Bryologising’ 

Although identifying species initially needs a 

modicum of determination, it is possible to quite 

quickly become familiar with most of the indicator 

species for Scotland’s oceanic heath. The lower 

stands of this community have the virtue of being 

available all the year round and grow in really nice 

places. Though some of the species are very distinct, 

even from some metres away, the process and the 

enjoyment will be enhanced if you get used to using 

a hand-lens (at least x10) to reveal the finer features 

on which identification sometimes depends. In the 

descriptions, where a lens is necessary it is indicated 

by (lens). Remember, hand-lens to the eye and move 

the plant into focus. 

In these guides, English names have been used 

alongside the Latin; these are not ‘common names’ 

in the same sense as those for flowers because they 

are all recent inventions and as yet are hardly used 

except in publications like this! Latin names should 

always be used for recording purposes to avoid any 

ambiguity. 

LIVERWORTS 

Lindenberg’s Featherwort 

(Adelanthus lindenbergianus) 

Oceanic, NR, RDL, S8. Leafy liverwort; 

size: medium-sized, forming open turfs of 

neat, erect stems amongst other bryophytes; 

colour: usually dark brown but can be 

brownish-green, glossy; leaves: rounded and 

the upper margin incurved towards the stem, 

all leaves turned down in the same direction; 

habitat: on thin peaty soil amongst heather 

on NE-facing slopes; note: superficially 

similar to Anastrophyllum donnianum and 

Anastrepta orcadensis but the incurved 

upper leaf margin is unique; currently known 

from just one site on Islay. 

Wood’s Whipwort 

(Mastigophora woodsii) 

Oceanic, NS. Leafy liverwort; size: mediumsized 

but often forming large cushions or 

patches; branching: irregular but frequent, 

the branches tending to narrow towards the 

end colour: usually some shade of yellow 

but may be variegated green or brownish; 

leaves: two lobes, the upper larger than the 

lower but the most noticeable feature is the 

margin which has lots of long narrow teeth 

(cilia) easily visible with a lens underleaves: 

similar in shape to the main leaves but much 

smaller; habitat: on thin peaty soil amongst 

ericaceous shrubs, in block scree or at the 

base of crags on N and NE-facing slopes, 

also occasionally in heathy woodland and 

wooded ravines; note: confusion only possible 

with Ciliated Fringewort (Ptilidium ciliare), 

a species of drier heaths which has shorter, 

blunt branches. 

© Maren Flagmeier 

Orkney Notchwort 

(Anastrepta orcadensis) 

Leafy liverwort; size: medium, usually 

growing as an open turf of erect stems 

amongst other bryophytes; colour: often a 

rather pale green but can be a dull yellow or 

brown, frequently has red gemmae at the 

stem apex; leaves: rounded but irregular 

and usually shallowly lobed at the apex, the 

base of the leaf is concave but the upper part 

curves away from the stem so that the whole 

looks convex; habitat: on thin peaty soil 

amongst ericaceous shrubs, in block scree 

or at the base of crags on N and NE-facing 

slopes, also frequent in heathy woodland and 

wooded ravines; note: generally common in 

the west and also frequent in this community. 

Taylor’s Flapwort (Mylia taylori) 

Leafy liverwort; size: medium to large, 

usually in large swelling cushions; colour: 

variable, in unshaded places it often purplishred 

variegated with yellow and brown, usually 

green in shade; leaves: large and round, often 

pressed together at the apex and with very 

large cells (lens); habitat: on thin peaty soil 



slopes, also frequent in heathy woodland and 

wooded ravines; note: a handsome liverwort, 

generally common in the west and also 

frequent in this community. 

Donn’s Notchwort 

(Anastrophyllum donnianum) 

Oceanic, NS. Leafy liverwort; size: 

medium-sized, forming open turfs of erect 

stems amongst other bryophytes; colour: 

usually dark brown but can be brownish 

green, glossy; leaves: rounded-triangular 

but concave so that leaves seem narrow, the 

apex has a small notch, all leaves turned 

down in the same direction; habitat: on 

thin peaty soil amongst ericaceous shrubs, 

in block scree or at the base of crags on N 

and NE-facing slopes; note: the commonest 

species of this community at higher 

altitudes and locally abundant. 

Carrington’s Featherwort 

(Plagiochila carringtonii) 

Oceanic, NS. Leafy liverwort; size: mediumsized 


patches with erect stems; colour: pale or 

yellow-green, often whitish when dry; leaves: 

round and placed vertically on the stem so 

that the upper faces are pressed against 

each other so the shoots look flattened, the 

upper margin running down the stem where it 

joins (decurrent); habitat: on thin peaty soil 



slopes, also occasionally in heathy woodland 

and wooded ravines. 

Alpine Notchwort 

(Anastrophyllum alpinum) 

Oceanic, NS. Leafy liverwort; size: mediumsized, 

forming open turfs of erect stems 

amongst other bryophytes; colour: usually 

dark brown but can be brownish green, glossy; 

leaves: rounded and very concave, forming 

a cup-shape, the apex has a small notch, all 

leaves turned down in the same direction; 

habitat: on thin peaty soil amongst ericaceous 

shrubs, in block scree or at the base of crags on 

N and NE-facing slopes; note: almost always 

with Donn’s Notchwort (Anastrophyllum 

donnianum) but much less common, easily 

confused with it but the cup-shaped leaves 

are distinctive – if you are not sure, then it is 

not Anastrophyllum alpinum. Joergensen’s 

Notchwort (Anastrophyllum joergensenii) has 

only recently been described as distinct from 

Anastrophyllum alpinum and is difficult to 

separate from it; it is smaller, usually forms 

denser turfs and may occur in damper sites. 

Prickly Featherwort 

(Plagiochila spinulosa) 

Oceanic. Leafy liverwort; size: mediumsized 


extensive pure patches; colour: yellow- or 

mid-green; leaves: rounded but upper 

margin rather straight and running down 

the stem (decurrent) in a slight curve, apex 

and lower margin with spine-like teeth, 

aromatic when crushed and inrolled when 

dry; habitat: on rocks and trees in shaded 

habitats in the west and common in the 

oceanic heath community. 

Lesser Whipwort 

(Bazzania tricrenata) 

Leafy liverwort; size: small but may form large 

cushions or straggling patches; branching: 

frequent thin branches from bottom of stem 

(flagellae) pale with tiny leaves colour: usually 

mid-green but can be yellowish; leaves: 

rounded-triangular and asymmetric with three 

small teeth at the narrow apex, often closely 

set and overlapping but sometimes widely 

spaced; underleaves: rounded and held close 

the stem, usually with teeth visible at the apex 

(lens); habitat: on thin peaty soil amongst 

ericaceous shrubs, in block scree or at the base 

of crags on N and NE-facing slopes; note: This 

is a widespread species not limited to this 

community but frequent in it. 

Purple Spoonwort 

(Pleurozia purpurea) 

Oceanic. Leafy liverwort; size: medium 

to large forming loose turfs or straggling 

through other bryophytes; colour: usually 

a distinctive dark reddish-purple but can be 

yellow- or brownish-green in shade; leaves: 

complex, bilobed with a smaller, almost 

tubular, upper lobe over a large concave 

lower lobe; habitat: on thin peaty soil 



slopes, in wet heath, on blanket bog, also in 

heathy woodland and wooded ravines; Note: 

Unmistakeable, frequent in this community 

but also abundant in wet heath and mires. 

Arch-leaved Whipwort 

(Bazzania pearsonii) 

Oceanic, NS. Differs from Bazzania 

tricrenata in usually forming denser and 

more ‘succulent-looking’ patches, the base 

of the leaves widely crossing the stem when 

viewed from above; underleaves held away 

from the stem and untoothed. 

Western Earwort 

(Scapania gracilis) 

Oceanic. Leafy liverwort; size: medium 

sized but often forming large cushions or 

extensive pure patches; colour: a rather 

dull yellow- or brownish-green; leaves: two 

lobed but with the upper lobe bent over the 

lower and upper part bent back so it stands 

up from the stem, margin usually strongly 

toothed (lens); habitat: on thin peaty soil 

amongst ericaceous shrubs, in block scree, 

on acidic rocks and trees; note: a common 

western species often present and locally 

abundant in stands of Scotland’s oceanic 

heath at lower levels. 

Juniper Prongwort 

(Herbertus aduncus ssp. hutchinsiae) 

Oceanic. Leafy liverwort; size: medium-sized 

with slender stems but often forming deep, 

dense cushions or large straggling patches; 

branching: frequent thin branches from 

bottom of stem (flagellae) with tiny leaves 

colour: usually a distinctive reddish- orange 

colour but can be green or yellow green tinged 

with red; leaves: triangular but deeply divided 

into two long, pointed lobes, usually all turned 

in the same direction underleaves: similar in 

shape and size to the main leaves; habitat: 

on thin peaty soil amongst ericaceous shrubs, 

in block scree or at the base of crags on N and 

NE-facing slopes, also in heathy woodland 

and wooded ravines; note: confusion is only 

possible with the next species or with Straw 

Prongwort (Herbertus stramineus), another 

oceanic species but one which favours more 

base-rich sites. 

Cloud Earwort 

(Scapania nimbosa) 

Oceanic, NS. Leafy liverwort; size: medium 

sized, usually in small patches mixed with 

other bryophytes and only rarely forming 

large pure patches; colour: usually a purplishred, 

rarely reddish-green or orange; leaves: 

two lobed and the lobes divided almost to 

the base, the smaller upper lobe bent flat 

over the lower and both lobes tapering to a 

rounded apex, margin with long curved teeth 



base of crags on N and NE-facing slopes; note: 

easily distinguished from Bird’s-foot Earwort 

(Scapania ornithopodioides), with which it 

usually grows, by the colour and long, curved 

teeth on the leaves. 

Northern Prongwort 

(Herbertus borealis) 

Oceanic, NR, RDL. Distinguished from 

Herbertus aduncus ssp. hutchinsiae 

by its usually bright orange colour, the 

more regularly curved and asymmetric 

leaves, smaller underleaves and by the 

numerous flagelliferous branches; note: 

currently known only from Beinn Eighe, 

its only European site. 

Bird’s-foot Earwort 

(Scapania ornithopodioides) 

Oceanic, NS. Leafy liverwort; size: 

medium to large, usually in small patches 

mixed with other bryophytes and only 

rarely forming large pure patches; colour: 

usually a characteristic ‘liver’ red colour; 

leaves: two lobed and the lobes divided to 

the base, the smaller upper lobe bent flat 

over the lower and both lobes tapering to a 

rounded apex, margin with straight teeth 



base of crags on N and NE-facing slopes, 

also occasionally in heathy woodland and 

wooded ravines.

Acrocarpous moss - Plantlife

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