Wall Scalewort

Appearance

Shoots are up to 1.5–4 mm wide, and several centimetres long. It is larger than most other lowland leafy liverworts, grows as loose patches or wefts of pinnate shoots, and often looks rather untidy because its leaf edges curl upwards. Leaves are up to 2 mm long and wide. Turning over one of its dull, usually dark green shoots will reveal a characteristic leaf arrangement: a blunt-tipped lobule with up-curled edges at the
base of each leaf, and a row of broad underleaves with up-curled edges along the stem. The lobules are one-fifth to one-eighth the size of the leaves.

Naming

Porella platyphylla (L.) Pfeiff

Distribution

North America, Europe, Central Asia, India, Columbia

Status

Global Status: G5

Habitat

On non-acidic rocks, boulders, walls, and the bases of trees.