Ricciocarpos natans is the only species in the genus Ricciocarpos, a genus of liverworts in the family Ricciaceae. It was formerly listed in 1759 as a species of Riccia by Linnaeus, but then assigned to a new genus of its own in 1829 by August Carl Joseph Corda.
Despite having many common features with the genus Riccia, its most obvious difference from that genus are the long sword-shaped purple scales that hang from the under surface of floating plants. The genus has occasionally appeared in the ...