Conardia compacta

HomeLearningSpecies FinderConardia compacta

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.

Read the Field Guide account

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland

View distribution from the BBS Atlas 2014

Similar Species