Cephaloziella stellulifera Heath Threadwort

A small, paroicous Threadwort with shoots that are often less tha 0.5mm wide and very short leaves (c. 0.3mm or less). It grows in a wide range of habitats, usually acidic, which include soil, peat, rotting logs and mine spoil. However, unlike Cephaloziella hampeana (which is dioicous), it is rarely found growing on Sphagnum. It is similar to Cephaloziella rubella, which is also paroicous and grows in similar habitats, but the perianth bracts of Cephaloziella stellulifera usually bend backwards away from the stem. It is almost certainly under recorded in Britain where it has a distinct, but scattered, southwest distribution. In West Glamorgan there are scattered records of it from the Swansea area and Gower but it is expected to be elsewhere and particularly in the South Wales Coalfield of Neath Port Talbot.