Frizzled Pincushion - Plenogemma phyllantha

It forms pale cushions 1 to 3.5 cm tall, olive-green above and reddish-brown or almost black below. The leaves are 2.5 to 4.5 mm long and are straight when moist, but curl up when dry. Each has a brownish nerve that protrudes from the tip, and this supports a conspicuous cluster of brown gemmae on most of the upper leaves of each shoot. Capsules are very rare in spring and summer.

It usually grows on the branches and trunks of trees and bushes. Less often it occurs on rocks, especially on or near the coast.

All year round.

This moss was formerly mainly coastal, and remains abundant in many coastal districts – but is now much commoner inland than it was during much of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Status in Leicestershire and Rutland not known.