Common Aloe-moss

<em>Aloina aloides</em>, commonly known as Common Aloe Moss, is a small moss in the family Pottiaceae. This species is classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, representing a severe conservation concern with populations recorded across several European countries including Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Common Aloe Moss typically inhabits open, disturbed, or sparsely vegetated ground in temperate and Mediterranean forest zones, often colonizing bare calcareous soils, chalk banks, old walls, and arable field margins. It forms small cushions or turfs of erect, spoon-shaped leaves that are distinctive for their inrolled margins and papillose surface. This moss is particularly associated with traditional low-intensity agricultural landscapes where bare ground is regularly created, and its dramatic decline is closely linked to the intensification of farming practices and the loss of suitable open, calcareous habitats across Europe. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.