False Polytrichum
Reposted from A Wildflower Journal (April 9, 2019) by Mike Ryan (MSc, RPBio, Research Ecologist, Kamloops)
On a walk out at Stake Lake I came across a rock face in a spruce forest that supported a wide variety of mosses and a few lichens. One of the more common species is false Polytrichum. It has the name Polytrichum because it superficially resembles haircap mosses that belong to the genus Polytrichum. There are four species of Timmia in North America of which all occur in BC. Timmia austriaca is by far the most common of the four species. It is a common species of shaded forested sites and often in cool areas.
A small colony of false polytrichum growing on a rock face.
A single leaf. Like most mosses, the leaves are only one-cell layer thick.
A small colony of false polytrichum growing on a rock face.
Most of the leaf cells are square in shape and contain numerous chloroplasts.
A single midrib runs the length of the leaf.
A single stem showing how the leaves fold up along the stem when dry.
The delicate moss capsules are open at one end and are surrounded by teeth that open and close with the humidity and help to disperse the spores.