It is commonly confused with similar-looking plants in the aquarium trade like Pellia liverworts and Süsswassertang, a fern gametophyte.

Monosolenium tenerum is a terrestrial plant, growing on moist, shady soil, sometimes in association with Marchantia palmata.

It has been found in east India (Assam, Himachal Pradesh, & Uttarakhand),[5] Nepal,[6] China (northwestern Sichuan,[7] Guangdong,[2] & Macau), Taiwan,[8] as well as the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, and Hawaii.

Schuster notes: In Japan the incidence of this species has declined in the countryside in recent decades—after adoption of modern plumbing.

It is of interest that this plant, "lost" for decades, appeared on fertilized soil in a greenhouse in Munich, giving Goebel the opportunity to carefully investigate the taxon.