Pellia neesiana Nees' Pellia

A dioicous thallose liverwort which is similar to Pellia epiphylla. It often has a purple or reddish colour to its thallus and a faint but sharp aromatic scent, but these are quite variable and somewhat unreliable field characters. Determination is best when the female plants have sporophytes so that the presence of an untoothed tube around the female sex organs can be confirmed. Unfortunately, some colonies are entirely male and then difficult to separate from Pellia epiphylla. It is a species of acidic, wet, marshy places, gravelled forest tracks and flushes in marshy grassland often with Purple Moor-grass (Molinia caerulea) and rushes (Juncus species). Pellia neesiana has a scattered western and northern distribution in Britain and has been well recorded in Wales. It is scattered in West Glamorgan but probably under recorded because of confusion with Pellia epiphylla. Sporophytes are frequent in early spring which is the best time to record this species.