This perennial moss is rather rare, When dry, it has an unusual and characteristic appearance, with wrinkled leaves that curl inwards at their tips. Its leaves are often much wider and more deeply concave than other Dicranum species.
Read the Field Guide accountIts distribution in Britain is currently quite disjunct, although it was formerly more widespread. It has undergone a massive decline across its former range, driven by habitat destruction and neglect. In Scotland, it is now mainly restricted to steep river terraces with scattered pines and upland heath. In England, its main habitat is grazed lowland heath. It is scattered but locally common in the New Forest in Hampshire, where it often grows at the interface of dry and wet heath under dwarf shrubs.
View distribution from the BBS Atlas 2014
The Bryophyte identification page under Resources contains additional information on the genus Dicranum.
Bryophyte identification resources