Status in Britain: Common

This moss is sometimes mistaken for a liverwort with its complanate (flattened) shoots and its translucent leaves which have no nerve. The leaves are large (about 5mm long) and ovate. The translucent appearance is partly due to the remarkably large cells of the leaf, can be just made out with the naked eye and are very clear with a lens.

It is a plant of humid, shaded conditions, and is often found on the banks of streams in sheltered wooded valleys in Wales, as well as in other habitats.