Identification notes
It’s quite distinctive when growing en masse, as it sometimes does on clayey banks. Quite reasonably, scattered plants look like any one of a number of small Bryum species, for the size and leaf shape is similar. Check the leaves of potential E. tozeri with a hand-lens to confirm two important features: a distinct, broad border and a nerve that stops well below the leaf tip. The tip of the leaf is apiculate and gives the whole leaf an unusual shape reminiscent of the rare Calyptrochaeta apiculata, although that plant is significantly larger. Although Bryum species often have a border, it is usually indistinct and/or narrow and the nerve can be seen to reach the leaf apex or beyond.
E. tozeri is a member of a community of small, pioneering bryophytes that often includes species of Dicranella, Fossombronia, Pohlia and Fissidens, among others.
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