Smooth Hornwort

Smooth hornwort, Phaeoceros laevis, is a small hornwort of the family Notothyladaceae, its flattened, dark green, glossy thallus reaching only a few millimeters across, from which rise slender, elongated spore capsules that split lengthwise from the tip and, growing in numbers, can resemble tufts of grass. It is monoecious, carrying both male and female reproductive structures on the same plant, and grows in consistently moist ground such as wet fields, stream banks and riverbanks, with populations recorded in the United States and historically in Bermuda.