Identification notes
The classic habitat of this semi-aquatic leafy liverwort is in the upper reaches of fast-flowing non-basic streams and rivers. Here it can be abundant, but it is also found in a range of wet habitats from sea-level to mountain-top.
No other liverworts of the same kind of aquatic habitat have almost round, unlobed leaves that are pressed together so that shoots are laterally compressed. So once known, N. compressa is a straightforward species to identify in the hand. In some headwater streams it is a member of a species-poor but characteristic community of dark green to black species which also includes Racomitrium aciculare.
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