Moss covered trees and fallen branches lie on the ground of a mossy woodland with standing trees behind — Moss, moss and more moss, fallen branches at Barnluasgan. Credit Lorne Gill, NatureScot/2020Vision

‘Bryophyte’ is the scientific term that’s often used collectively for three groups of plants: mosses, liverworts and hornworts. They’re our oldest land plants and very much older than flowering plants, and while they’re not closely related, they do have a lot in common.

You’ll find mosses and liverworts growing in lots of different locations, even in big cities. But it’s in the rainforest that these plants really come into their own. The damp, humid environment is perfect, and you’ll see them on most surfaces, often growing to a very large size. In fact, our temperate rainforests are internationally important because of the number and variety of bryophytes growing here.

To try to put that into context, there are around 1000 species of bryophytes in Scotland. Some individual woods within the rainforest zone can hold hundreds of species just on one site. If these woodlands are lost, then all the bryophytes they hold will go too.

Identifying different types of mosses and liverworts can be very difficult, but there are lots of good guides if you want to give it a go. Many species of moss are quite common, and you’ll see them in lots of locations, sometimes forming huge carpets over the forest floor or on boulders or walls.

But it’s often liverworts that indicate you’re in a really biodiverse area of temperate rainforest. Look on rocks, boulders and logs for species like prickly featherwort and western earwort growing together with a tiny fern called Wilson’s filmy fern. You may also find spotty featherwort growing nearby on birch trees. When those species are found together, you’re likely to find rarer species growing too!

One other thing about bryophytes that you may have noticed is that they often have very colourful (and sometimes quite amusing) names! Some are also named after the scientists who first identified them, like William Wilson, Ellen Hutchins and John Bland Wood.

Greater fork-moss

A tangle of mosses and liverworts all growing together with filmy ferns, all different colours and shapes — The grass-like plant here is greater fork-moss. The other plant is Wilson’s filmy fern. Credit Gordon Rothero

A common moss species that you’ll find all over the UK, not just in the rainforest. But it’s big and obvious and quite easy to identify, so it’s a good moss to start with. It’s quite grass-like, and if you look closely, you’ll see the leaves are shaped like tiny scimitars. It likes to grow in soil, but you’ll find it growing on muddy rocks too.

Prickly featherwort

Close up of a liverwort with green shiny fronds and little spiked edges — Prickly featherwort. Credit Stan Philips

This is one of the liverwort species that indicates you’re probably standing in a bit of temperate rainforest. It’s often found in damp, humid ravines, and north-facing rocky slopes in the rainforest, where you may see it growing interspersed with other species. There are, however, a few other liverworts that look quite similar, so if you want to be completely sure of your ID, you might have to get your magnifying glass out. It’s actually quite a common species in Scotland, but it’s rare elsewhere, making our populations very important.

Western featherwort

A tree with green mosses growing up it thickly and ferns growing out the side of the moss. The tree is leaning out over a river with the buddy bank visible on the other side. — Western featherwort. Credit Gordon Rothero

This liverwort not only indicates you’re in temperate rainforest, but also shows that the woodland probably has very high biodiversity, (ie it’s a really good bit of Scotland’s rainforest!) It’s a beautiful, bright green liverwort that’s rare in the rest of Europe. Look for it growing on the south face of rocks, or sometimes on trees, often on a southern slope.

Lesser yokemoss

A tuft of green moss on the side of a tree with capsules sticking out — Lesser yoke-moss often has capsules. Credit Stan Phillips

There are several yokemosses that look similar, and to be sure of an ID, scientists often need to take a sample away to look at under the microscope. However, this one is more common in Scotland’s rainforest, and usually produces a lot of capsules in spring, making it easier to spot.

If you’re ready for a bit of science… the capsule is the little bulbous bit on the end of the stalk that you can see in this picture. It produces spores, and is part of the life-cycle of a moss called a sporophyte. The other bit, the green spiky moss-like bit, is called the gametophyte.

Mosses and liverworts don’t produce flowers, but the capsules can look a little bit like flowers in some species, though when you look at them close up, they’re often a bit more like something out of Dr Who!