Phaeoceros laevis

A dioicous hornwort which grows in ditches, on wet banks, along muddy tracks and in wet arable fields. The thallus forms a dark-green rosette whose edges are not frilly like those of Anthoceros species, which is a possible source of confusion. Male plants are quite distinctive with lots of pits on the upper surface of the thallus. Horns are produced on the females and can be found at almost any time of year. Phaeoceros carolinianus is very similar but monoicous, so it has male pits and female organs on the same plant; identification is only safe when sporophytes are present. It is a Mediterranean-Atlantic species which in Britain is most common in southwest England and west Wales. It is very rare in West Glamorgan where it has been recorded in a few arable fields in Gower.