English: Neat feather-moss.
German: Grosses Grünstängelmoos.
Synonym: Scleropodium purum.
Clades:
Brachytheciaceae,
Brachytheciales,
Bryidae,
Bryanae,
Bryophyta,
Plants.
Region: European; ambiguity of its original range; introduced in British Isles, Iceland, Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, Jamaica, Hawaii, Chile, New Zealand, Southeastern Australia, St. Helena, scattered areas in North America and Asia.
Habitat: low to moderate elevation; acidic and calcified grasslands, heaths, on banks, among rocks and on rock ledges; typical forest floor moss, characteristic of young, reforested areas; open woodland; not particularly shade tolerant; associated with
Picea abies,
Thuja occidentalis; flourishes when leaf litter is sparse; areas of high anthropogenic activity and disturbance, urban lawns, cemeteries, forest edges, roadsides, discarded lawn clippings.
Use: bioaccumulates heavy metals and nitrogen; for biomonitoring soil nitrogen concentration.
BotanyMoss; forms soft carpets or turfs.
Stems: regularly pinnate shoots up to 15 cm long; branching may become irregular when growing on disturbed sites, such as mowed lawns; branches are ± 1 and 3 cm in length; shoots of have a swollen appearance which is especially pronounced when moist.
Leaves: yellow-green to dark green; broadly ovate; distinctly recurved at the tip; have a single costa that extends midleaf; stem leaves are between 2 to 3 mm long; branch leaves are 1 to 2 mm long.
The moss mainly propagates vegetatively, with
Sporophytes: rarely being observed; seta is relatively long, from 2 to 5 cm.
Growth form: pleurocarpous.