Guardian Nature School Team Contact Blog Project Noah Facebook Project Noah Twitter

A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife

Join Project Noah!
nature school apple icon

Project Noah Nature School visit nature school

Side-fruited Crisp-moss

Pleurochaete squarrosa

Description:

The first two pictures show dry specimens. The last one depicts a more hydrated specimen. Pleurochaete squarrosa is a thermophilous, sub-mediterranean moss. It is a common moss in mediterranan countries. It forms extended cushions. The leaves, strongly curved away from the stem, without a hair point, and very crisped when dry, are good field characters for this species. Plants are green, yellowish-green or golden and 2–6 cm tall. The leaves are usually 4.5–5.5 mm long, have an obvious nerve and taper gradually to the tip from the sheathing base. The basal margins of the leaves have a narrow band of clear cells (visible as almost white margin under a hand lens), extending up the margin for some way. The sporophites are very rare. It can be confused with Tortella tortuosa but they differ because in T. tortuosa the leaves are strongly curved.

Habitat:

Pleurochaete squarrosa is characteristic of seasonally very dry and sunny habitats. Grows loosely tufted or scattered and mixed with other plants on sandy or calcareous ground. The European populations of P. squarrosa are currently spreading in north-western and central Europe, probably in consequence of climate change.

Species ID Suggestions



Sign in to suggest organism ID

No Comments

arlanda
Spotted by
arlanda

Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Spotted on Mar 28, 2012
Submitted on Mar 4, 2013

Spotted for Mission

Related Spottings

Pleurochaete squarrosa Side-fruited Crisp-moss moss

Nearby Spottings

Mycena purpureofusca Anaptychia ciliaris Mealy pixie-cup Great tit, carbonero común
Noah Guardians
Noah Sponsors
join Project Noah Team

Join the Project Noah Team