White cushion moss

Description:

White cushion moss is a common moss which forms a thick cushion. It can be white, grayish, or bluish-green. It grows about one to three inches tall. This moss often grows in a ball shape, but it can also form a mat almost three feet across. Like all mosses, white cusion moss does not have roots or flowers. Mosses have stems with many tiny leaves on them. The leaves of white cushion moss are only a few milimeters long, thin and acicular. Since it has no roots, white cushion moss absorbs water through its leaves like a sponge. To reproduce, this moss sends up tiny stalks, called sporophytes. When the spores inside are grown, the stalk bends and the top of it opens up, letting the spores fall out. Spores are the equivalent of seeds in a flowering plant, but are not exactly the same. Spores will travel by wind to form new plants.

Habitat:

White cushion moss occurs in moist woods or marshes, where there is shade and water. It can be found growing on soil, rotting logs, bases of living or dead tree trunks, or rock ledges.

Notes:

Spotted in National Park De Sallandse Heuvelrug, Holland.(sources:see reference)