Scopelophila cataractae Tongue-leaf Copper-moss

An olive-green, dioicous acrocarpous moss which grows on metalliferous spoil, particualrly moist, zinc-rich substrates. The glossy, pointed, tongue-shaped leaves are keeled and have a thick nerve which protrudes as a small point at the tip. In heavily contaminated sites the leaves become more bronze in colour as they age. It is a rare moss in Britain with just a few sites in western England, Wales and the Isle of Man. It has been known from metal contaminated sites in the Lower Swansea Valley at least since the 1960s and still occurs in the vicinity of the Six Pits Branch there. Only male plants are known in Britain and dispersal probably occurs via gemmae.