Identification notes
Although a very rare species, this moss has characters that should be familiar to anybody who knows S. substrumulosum. It’s far more obvious when shoots are dry than wet, for then it has the characteristic golden-green colour and silky appearance of Sematophyllum. S. demissum often bears capsules, which are very small and have a smooth seta, characters which can be useful in dismissing the possibility of the very common Sciuro-hypnum populeum, which often grows in the same places. Under the microscope, Sematophyllum leaves have small auricles consisting of a few enlarged/inflated alar cells – quite unlike any similar pleurocarps.
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