Bazzania trilobata - a BIG leafy, liverwort

where Conocephalum is one of our largest thalloid liverworts, Bazzania is one of our largest leafy liverworts. this means that it has a stem and leaves and is much more 'moss-like' than the thalloid liverworts which are just thick or thin flattened plants without any differentiation into stems or leaves.  Bazzania is very common in moist forests especially cedar swamps. it loves old stumps, humic soil, but can also be found on rocks and tree bases. when it's happy, it can form large, loose repeatedly forked cushions.

the way the leaves curl down somewhat over the stem have always reminded me of a centipede-like creature. Each leaf ends in 3 triangular teeth.

Bazzania, like many liverworts has small underleaves...much smaller than the top leaves, and they generally have 4-5 teeth.

 It also produces long rootlike branches which arise from the base of the underleaves, which you can see in this wonderful photo by Michael Luth:

Some say that it has the smell of sandalwood, but i haven't noticed that myself...perhaps i'll check next time i'm hiking around the park trails.