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Nowellia curvifolia
Also called Wood Rust, Wood Rustwort
Rustwort is a small, delicate liverwort (a non-flowering moss-like plant) that grows flat on rotting logs in cool northern forests. It is a wild forest species, not a plant grown in gardens or homes, so care tips apply only to conserving it in the wild.
Nowellia curvifolia is a species of liverwort belonging to the family Cephaloziaceae. It is a small, delicate plant that forms prostrate growths on rotting logs in forests throughout the northern temperate and subarctic regions (the Holarctic realm). The species is distinguished by its distinctive billowed leaves arranged in two rows, each divided into two pointed lobes with the lower lobe forming a specialised water-holding pocket called a water-sac. The plant shows seasonal colour variation from rose to purple to brown to spring green, developing reddish-purple pigmentation in autumn and winter. It reproduces both sexually, through spores produced in reddish-brown capsules, and asexually via single-celled gemmae. N.
Nowellia curvifolia is a widespread Holarctic species, meaning it occurs throughout the northern temperate and subarctic regions of the world. Genetic studies of specimens from different regions have revealed significant differences between populations: European and North American populations are genetically very similar (99.98% genetic identity), while Asian populations show much greater divergence (97.49% genetic identity) from both European and North American specimens. This level of genetic differentiation suggests there may be cryptic species within what is currently recognised as N. curvifolia, particularly in Asia, or the presence of distinct geographical races.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Nowellia curvifolia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
