notothylas hornwort of damp soil and shaded forest margins
- Size
- Width: 1–2 cm
- Lifespan
- 1–2 years
- Diet
- Grows on damp soil, stream banks, and disturbed ground in open, sunny locations. Requires consistent moisture, well-drained soil, and good light. Tolerates moderate disturbance and seasonal drying.
- Habitat
- Grows on damp soil, stream banks, and disturbed ground throughout New Zealand. A creature of the wet ground, the soft earth, the places where the soil is damp and the sun can reach. Small, round, and easily missed, a tiny, green, button-like thallus that lies flat on the soil, with short, inconspicuous sporophytes that barely rise above the surface. The hornwort of the hidden life, the one that prefers to be overlooked.
- Range
- Found throughout the North and South Islands on damp soil, stream banks, and disturbed ground in open, sunny locations. Most common in lowland areas with consistent moisture. Also found in temperate regions worldwide.
- Endemism
- Native
- Main Threats
- None significant. This species is common but under-recorded due to tiny size. Localised threats include habitat loss from land development, drainage of wetlands, and climate change reducing soil moisture.
- Population
- Not Threatened, though easily overlooked due to its small size. Notothylas hornwort is likely under-recorded in New Zealand, as it requires damp, disturbed habitats and is easy to miss. More survey work is needed to understand its true distribution.
- Conservation Status
- Not Threatened
The one that does not want to be seen has a body (thallus) that is small, round, and button-like, growing in tiny, green rosettes on the damp soil. The thallus is only a few millimetres across, the size of a small pea, and lies flat on the ground, blending in with the soil and the moss. The sporophytes, the horn-like structures that give hornworts their name, are short and inconspicuous, barely rising above the thallus. They look like tiny, green nubs rather than horns. It is the hornwort of the hidden life, the one that prefers to be overlooked, the one that makes you get down on your hands and knees to find it.
What makes it special is the smallness. Notothylas hornwort is one of the smallest hornworts in New Zealand. Its thallus is only 2 to 5 millimetres across, smaller than a fingernail, and its sporophytes are only a few millimetres tall. It is easy to miss, easy to overlook, easy to step on without noticing. It is the hornwort of the miniature world, the one that lives in the spaces between the moss and the soil, the one that proves that the most interesting things are often the smallest.
The thallus is round or kidney-shaped, with a smooth, shiny surface. The colour is a pale, yellowish-green to bright green. The thallus is only a few cells thick, making it translucent and delicate. Under a hand lens, the cells are visible, a honeycomb pattern that catches the light.
Biologically, the notothylas hornwort reproduces by spores, released from the short, horn-like sporophytes. The sporophytes are unique among hornworts, they do not grow continuously from the base but have a fixed length. The spores are tiny, carried by the wind to new locations.
To find notothylas hornwort is to get down on your hands and knees and look closely at the damp soil. There it is, a tiny, green, button-like rosette, smaller than a fingernail. It is the hornwort of the hidden life, the one that prefers to be overlooked, the one that proves that the forest is full of secrets for those who take the time to look.