Identification notes
This, the commonest of the small Scapania species, is not a species you are likely to find unless you are closely scrutinising a moist, rotting log, a damp bank or rock with your hand-lens. Then, its small size (far smaller than S. nemorea, or S. gracilis, with which it sometimes grows), clusters of red gemmae at the shoot tips and sharply pointed, serrate leaf lobes make it stand out.
Like many gemmiferous liverworts, heavy rain can wash off many of the gemmae, but you should always be able to find a few if you check a few shoots under a stereomicroscope.
Read the Field Guide account
