Identification notes
This epiphyte has been spreading eastwards from its western strongholds for some years and more bryologists have become familiar with it. When fruiting, U. calvescens has a distinctive but subtle ‘pin-headed’ appearance that places it apart from other Ulota species. It is also the only species with a long seta that matures its capsules in spring and early summer (U. crispula has a shorter seta). It is happiest in areas of high rainfall and mild temperatures, so in other areas it is always worth targeting the bark of trees growing in very sheltered places near water and ideally buffered by conifer plantations.
Some references say that one of the best diagnostic features of U. calvescens is its hairless calyptra, but in fact it can be anything from hairless to very hairy. A much more reliable character, and one that can be used for identification of plants year-round is the basal areolation of its stem leaves (high power microscope needed). In U. calvescens, a few rows of cells away from the leaf margin, there is a narrow band of distinctly elongate cells which reach up to around mid-leaf. None of our other species have this.
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