''Leiomitra julacea'' is a species of liverwort endemic to New Zealand. It is known only from

Stewart Island Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land ar ...

and from the southern

West Coast Region The West Coast ( mi, Te Tai Poutini, lit=The Coast of Poutini, the Taniwha) is a region of New Zealand on the west coast of the South Island that is administered by the West Coast Regional Council, and is known co-officially as Te Tai Poutini. ...

of the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. It occurs in rocky outcrops at elevations of approximately 130 m. ''Leiomitra julacea'' is a spongy plant appearing like a mass of interwoven

cilia The cilium, plural cilia (), is a membrane-bound organelle found on most types of eukaryotic cell, and certain microorganisms known as ciliates. Cilia are absent in bacteria and archaea. The cilium has the shape of a slender threadlike projecti ...

. It is creeping plant, chocolate brown, with shoots up to 2 mm wide. Leaves spread widely but with the lobes arching sharply toward the shoot apex. Leaf disc 5-6 cells high. The only other species of ''Leiomitra'' found in New Zealand, ''L. lanata'', is yellow-green with the disc 6-10 cells high.Engel, John Jay. 1999. Austral Hepaticae 26: The identity, taxonomic position and ecology of ''Trichocolea julacea'' Hatcher (Trichocoleaceae). Novon 9:25-28.
/ref>Engel, J. J. & D. Glenny. 2007. Austral Hepaticae 43. ''Castanoclobos'', a new genus of Trichocoleaceae from New Zealand. Novon 17: 424–428.
/ref>

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q16984347 Jungermanniales Flora of the South Island