Porella platyphylla Wall Scalewort

A relatively large, dioicous leafy liverwort which forms conspicous dark green wefts at the bases of trees such as beech and ash and also on calcareous rocks and cliffs. The long, pinnate shoots turn up at their ends giving the loose patches a distinctive appearance. It is the most common species of Porella in Britain and it is fairly widespread in the south in areas where the underlying geology is chalk or limestone. Western populations tend to be found mostly on rock and it is quite tolerant of desiccation. It has a local distribution in Wales where there are scattered population in the south and north. In West Glamorgan it is almost entirely confined to south Gower where it grows on limestone rock. Most plants in Britain are females and sporophytes are unknown here.