Identification notes
In Europe this species is included within the genus Fuscosephaloziopsis, on account of its brownish colour, which is usually fairly obvious. It grows delicate but rather stiff stems, up to 1mm across, which are usually found growing through Sphagnum or sometimes in patches on wet peat, often growing with other liverworts.
Like many Cephalozia species the leaves are longitudinally inserted and the apical cell of the leaf lobe is thickened at the tip. It can be confused with Cephalozia connivens which grows in similar habitats and has a more glistening appearance due to larger cells (up to 50μm wide) and the absence of brown pigment. C.macrostachya commonly has gemmae at the shoot tips which C.connivens does not. Cephalozia lunulifolia can grow on damp peat, but it is green rather than brown. A cross section of the older stem will demonstrate the yellow-brown pigment in C.macrostachya if there is doubt. The rarer C.loitlesbergeri shares the pigmentation but the leaf lobes terminate in points that are 2-3 cells long.
It is quite possible to be able to identify vegetative plants with confidence, but differentiating between the two varieties (var.macrostachya and var spiniflora) does really require fertile material (and close attention to Jean Paton’s flora) which unfortunately is not always available.
