Three species of the introduced feather-mosses (Brachythecium spp.) are commonly seen in gardens. I have two of them, shown here. The leafy stems of Whitish Feather-moss or Lawn Moss (Brachythecium albicans) are string-like and often whitish at the tips. When colonising a bare surface, they are creeping and produce more side branches. When infesting lawns and long lush grass they tend to be more erect and branch less. When heavily shaded they are a darker green than is shown here. The other two feather-mosses lack the white stem tips and are similar in many respects. Rough-stalked Feather-moss (Brachythecium rutabulum), as the name suggests, has a rough capsule stalk (seta). The Smooth-stalked Feather-moss (B. salebrosum), by contrast, has smooth setae. It can also be distinguished by the strongly plicate (pleated) leaves –with a ragged or rough look- and the leaves sudden tapering to a long leaf-point. All of these features require the use of a hand lens or microscope.
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 10:39:30 +0000
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