Identification notes
This rarity is one of those species that should be searched for in a very individual kind of habitat. It is especially fond of growing on exposed low boulders and rocks at the edges of upland lakes in the Scottish Highlands and mountainous parts of Ireland, although it is curiously absent from many sites with apparently good habitat.
At first glance its dark green cushions look unremarkable but look more closely at the shoot tips with a hand-lens and you’ll quickly realise that it’s a bit different. Clusters of pale yellowish gemmae grow on modified leaf tips, ruling out all other Grimmia species except for G. hartmanii, for which it has been mistaken in the past.
