Moss Specimen

Date2007

Dimensions1 x 5 x 7.5 cm (3/8 x 1 15/16 x 2 15/16 in.)

Object numberHF.2012.49.40

DescriptionA dried sample of Herzogiella striatella [Brid.] Iwats. Plus Lepidozia reptans [Linnaeus] Dum. and Jamesoniella autumnalis [Decandolle] Steph moss. The sample has short green stems with very small triangular-shaped leaves. Very thin, copper coloured stands are present throughout sample. Reverse is brown with light coloured speckles, possible sediment/organic matter. Small amounts of blue-grey lichen present within the sample.

Kingdom: Biota
Phylum: Bryophyta
Class: Bryopsida
Order: Hypnales
Family: Plagiotheciaceae
Genus: Herzogiella
Species: Herzogiella striatella [Brid.] Iwats.

Narrative

Collected on October 23, 2007, by Rosemary Curley from the Devil's Punchbowl, North Granville, PEI (46°24'21.05"N, 63°29'8.18"W. Datum: NAD83). Collected from a steeply sloped depression with stream banks coated in mosses, substrate was a rich humus at the base of a balsam fir.

Herzogiella striatella [Brid.] Iwats., grows in patches with slender shoots 5 cm long. The horizontal stems have ascending branches which are flattened in one plane. Leaves are 1.5mm long with a long tapered upturned tip. It has autoicous reproduction; the capsules are 2mm long and form in the summer months. It is commonly found growing in well drained areas with a thin soil layer on rocky crevices and sheltered locations.

Herzogiella striatella can be found growing throughout North America as well as Europe. It is common within the three Maritime provinces, less so in Prince County, PEI.

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