Riccardia palmata Palmate Germanderwort

A dioicous thallose liverwort which grows on rotting logs of deciduous and coniferous trees in humid woodlands, sometimes forming dense carpets. The neat branched thallus produces closely-packed, finger-like growths that resemble tiny hands sticking up from the substrate, which give it a very distinctive appearance. A Boreal-montane species, it is most common in the northwest of Scotland but has scattered occurrences in Wales and southwest England. Most records in West Glamorgan are from Neath Port Talbot where it occurs on rooting logs in upland sessile-oak woodland and spruce plantations where it occurs commonly with Cephalozia (Nowellia) curvifolia. Sporophyte capsules are occasional in spring and summer.