Identification notes
When encountered creeping around en masse on a bank or rockface this is often a conspicuous plant. Its presence often hints at exciting humidity-demanding (oceanic) bryophyte associates, so it’s always worth seeing what else you can find nearby.
Saccogyna is unusual among our leafy liverworts in having very obliquely inserted leaves, obvious underleaves and branches that arise from the underside of the plant. It has opaque-looking leaves and the plants often have striking golden or even orange-brown secondary pigments.
Look at a well-grown stem and you’ll notice that many of the leaves look like they are arranged in opposite pairs; technically, they aren’t, but this is nonetheless a useful field ID character.
It’s a species of sheltered, shady humid places, often where there is a bit of water seepage through the ground or over the rocks it grows on.
Read the Field Guide account
