Overview
Lophocolea is a genus of leafy liverworts in the family Lophocoleaceae, found in moist, shaded habitats across much of the world. Plants form low, spreading, pale to mid-green mats and patches on rotting wood, damp soil, tree bases, and rock, usually under 0.4 inch (1 cm) tall but spreading widely. The thin, translucent leaves are arranged in two rows along creeping stems, each leaf typically two-lobed at the tip, with a separate row of smaller underleaves beneath. Some species release a sweetish or spicy scent when crushed. Reproduction is by spores produced in small capsules on short, pale stalks, and also vegetatively by fragments and gemmae, which lets colonies spread quickly over suitable surfaces. The genus grows in consistently damp, shaded, humid conditions and is intolerant of drying out and of strong sun. Several species colonize logs, leaf litter, greenhouse benches, and shaded soil, and a few are common weeds of pots and nursery beds. Identification to species relies on leaf and underleaf shape under magnification.