Identification notes
In high rainfall areas, this can be a very common species of acid hard rock in all kinds of situations where it will seldom dry out. It can be abundant on rocks and boulders in fast-flowing hill streams and rivers, in springs and on rock in paths, and shaded exposures. In Cornwall, it is a characteristic member of the bryophyte community of china clay waste (soft granite) where it relies on high precipitation and regular fog to maintain its water relations. It also varies a lot in size and in smaller plants it can be hard to see the recurved leaf margin that sets it apart from related species. However, its brownish colour and the way its leaves are held makes this a relatively straightforward liverwort to identify. M. aquatica is a larger, more riparian species that used to be a subspecies of M. emarginata.
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