Fuscocephaloziopsis albescens
Marchantiophyta
Fuscocephaloziopsis albescens (Cephaloziaceae)
Snow Threadwort
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Infrequent
Distinguishing Features
With relatively wide (> 1 mm) and worm-like pale green shoots clustering amongst and growing through Sphagnum in subalpine areas, F. albescens takes some work to see. The round, shallowly lobed and concave leaves are much wider than the stem and standout as unique in their habitat, especially when paired with a long, unlobed and utterly visible (at least with a hand lens) underleaf. Under the microscope, oil bodies should be absent.
Similar species
Genera like Gymnomitrion and Harpanthus are also subalpine, pale and two lobed, but neither of those species have the concave, cupped-shaped leaves of Fuscocephaloziopsis albescens. Cephalozia bicuspidata has similar leaf attachement, but lacks an underleaf its lateral leaves are elongate and deeply bilobed, whereas in F. albescens they are round and shallowly bilobed. No other species in the genus Fuscocephaloziopsis has an underleaf.
Habitat
Subalpine meadows on soil, hummus & Sphagnum.
Associated species
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