“John Macoun was the first person to collect this elusive liverwort, purportedly in 1889, near Hastings Mill, somewhere in the vicinity of present day Gastown. Because most of the suitable habitat in the area was lost due to subsequent urbanization, the precise location of Macoun’s collection remains unknown. Later efforts of others to relocate the species within the Vancouver area have failed, and some have wondered if Macoun’s gatherings had truly come from the Hastings Mill area in the first place. It wasn’t until 1975 that Cololejeunea macounii was found again in North America, but this time further north, on Haida Gwaii.”

Steve Joya, Bryophyte Editor at E-Flora.