Texas Balloonwort Sphaerocarpos texanus

The Texas Balloonwort (Sphaerocarpos texanus) is a scarce, low-growing thallose liverwort of open, disturbed arable soils, producing characteristic balloon-like involucres around its reproductive structures. Despite its name, it is a native British plant, associated with light, sandy, or chalky arable fields – particularly those with reduced herbicide inputs and some bare-soil disturbance from cultivation. In Suffolk, it is associated with the Breckland and light arable soils of the county, where sympathetic farming practices provide the open, disturbed ground it requires. As an arable specialist, it is closely tied to farming practices, and conservation headland management benefits this species. Image: © Rebecca Reader-Lee, iNaturalist.

Find out more: iNaturalist, British Bryological Society