Identification notes
This rare pleurocarp is very slender, and looks like a small, prickly form of Amblystegium serpens. It creeps about on hard, slightly damp lime-rich rocks and soil in deep shade and has a particular liking for scoops below limestone crags in lowland woodland where it may grow with the likes of Eucladium verticillatum.
The leaves are of a similar shape to A. serpens and both species have relatively short mid-leaf cells. However, Conardia has more spreading leaves that are sharply toothed below, although they are so small that a microscope may be necessary to see them. If plants have capsules they are unlikely to be worth collecting as potential Conardia – in Europe sporophytes are unknown. Look out for elongate uniseriate leaf gemmae, which may be present near leaf tips.
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