Identification notes
This is probably our commonest species of Cephaloziella in wet places such as bogs and mires. It does really require fertile material for a confident identification, but there are some useful pointers. The patches or shoots are greenish or sometimes brownish, but not red or purple.
The plant has no underleaves and the rather distant stem leaves are held quite rigidly in an erecto-patent or patent attitude. The leaf lobes themselves are spreading and are relatively broad at the base, up to 10 cells wide, and have no teeth.
The female bracts are divided only to 1/4 or 1/2 , with triangular lobes terminating in a usually 2-celled apex over 30 µm long. The plants are autoicous with separate male and female inflorescences on the same plant. The similar C.stellulifera and C.rubella are usually paroicous with the male inflorescence immediately below the female, with the male bracts obscuring the base of the lower female bracts.
The genus Cephaloziella has a reputation of being very difficult but with good fertile material and a methodical approach, a satisfactory and satisfying identification can usually be made. Conversely, trying to identify infertile entire-leaved species with no underleaves is likely to be frustrating and unsuccessful.
Read the Field Guide account
