Palustriella commutata Curled Hook-moss

 A dioicous, pleurocarpous moss of base-rich flushes, springs and wet cliffs. It is a brownish-green or yellowish-green hook moss which often grows in extensive, wet mats. The pinnate, feathery branching of the shoots, which are clothed in red-brown rhizoids, have a distinctive appearance. The branch leaves are strongly curved. It can be confused with Palustriella falcata which doesn't show such regular branching and doesn't look so symmetrical and neat. It is largely a northern species in Britain but it is found throughout most of Wales, although less common in the west. It is scattered throughout West Galmorgan in suitable places and it can be locally abundant in base-rich flushes in the coalfield and in the vicinity of waterefalls at the head of the Vale of Neath. Sporophyte capsules are occasional.