Moss Specimen

Date2007

Dimensions1 x 9 x 13 cm (3/8 x 3 9/16 x 5 1/8 in.)

Object numberHF.2012.49.48

DescriptionA large sample of Hylocomiastrum pyrenaicum [Spruce] Lindberg moss. Long stems with feather-like branches, green and brown in colour are tightly interwoven. Branches and stems have fine, short, feather-like leaves. Reverse side is darker in colour with evidence of other organic matter among the stems (Conifer needles, etc.).

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Bryophyta
Class: Bryopsida
Order: Hypnales
Family: Hylocomiaceae
Genus: Hylocomiastrum
Species: Hylocomiastrum pyrenaicum [Spruce] Lindberg

Narrative

Collected on May 4, 2011, by Jennifer Doubt with Rene Belland, Graham Forbes, Dwayne A. W. Lepitzki, and Kristiina Ovaska, from the West side of the Souris Line Road (Hwy 305), Souris, PEI, 4.5 km South of Hermanville, near the intersection with Kitson Road (46°25'8,6"N, 62°16'51,1"W). Collected growing from the side of soil hummock in older deciduous woods, bare but off trail.

Hylocomiastrum pyrenaicum [Spruce] Lindberg moss has irregular and sparsely branched shoots. Stem leaves are 1.5mm long, oval shaped and concave which twist and taper to a narrow point. Branch leaves are smaller, 1mm in length. Both stem and branch leaves have irregularly shaped margins. It grows in rocky areas and base-rich sites including soil, humus, old logs, and rocks in moist forest.

Hylocomiastrum pyrenaicum is found circumpolar in Boreal-montane regions including throughout North America, Iceland, Greenland, Europe, and Asia. It is frequently found within Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, but is much less common in PEI.

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