Author:
Qjure
Book:
Qjurious
Type:
Info
Chapter:
3-333.57.13
Brachythecium rutabulum
German: Gemeines Kurzbüchensenmoos.
Clades: Brachytheciaceae; Brachytheciales, Bryidae, Bryanae, Bryophyta, Plants.
Region: widespread; Germany, Switzerland.
Habitat: many different, enriched lowlands; common in woodland, forests of all kinds; in cities, parks, gardens, lawns, hedge bases; on rocks, at the base of tree trunks, rotten wood.
Identification: difficult due to unremarkable characters.
Botany
Moss; robust; very rich in forms; from yellowish-green to pale green to strong green; glossy.
Stems: branched irregularly, variable; pale glossy shoot tips, as if fairy lights.
Leaves: concave stem leaves that are broadly triangular-ovate, widest close to the base and tapering to a narrow, acuminate tip; leaflets are often turned to one side.
Capsules: on a coarsely papillose seta, which looks dull and rough through a hand-lens; conical lid, never beaked.
Growth form: pleurocarp.
Culture
In the Middle Ages it was believed that the twigs of Brachythecium rutabulum are a good sleeping pill were, so it was dried stuffed in pillows and mattresses.