Unidentified moss?

[NickCantle]

Is this a type of moss? I'm not sure. I see it a lot, but I've never been sure I'm sure someone knows. I'm stupid



Thanks in advance!

Nick

[aeshna5]

Definitely a moss- you have the asexual sporophyte capsules there. I'll tentatively ID it as Polytrichum juniperum, but I'm no bryologist!

[NickCantle]

I'lll have a look. Thanks aeshna, my saviour!!!

, Nick

[RobSutton]

Originally Posted by aeshna5

Definitely a moss- you have the asexual sporophyte capsules there. I'll tentatively ID it as Polytrichum juniperum, but I'm no bryologist!

I too think it's a Polytrichum and could well be juniperum
. What was the habitat it was growing in ie sandy heath, peat bog or something else?

[NickCantle]

Hiya Rob. It was on scrub, with sandy soil

[RobSutton]

Originally Posted by NickCantle

Hiya Rob. It was on scrub, with sandy soil

That seems to fit with Polytrichum juniperum.

Just as a matter of interest the British Bryological Society have a website that supports a new field guide they are producing and you can view the various species descriptions and pictures that are going to be in it - a good way of checking ID's.

British Bryological Society Fieldguide - Introduction

[NickCantle]

Thanks very much to both Rob and aeshna for your fantastic help!

Nick

[Fungus Ken]

In Polytrichum juniperinum the leaves are drawn out into sharp orange-reddish tips. This reddish leaf tip is a very useful and consistent field character but I can't really see any signs of red tips in your photo.

If these photos were taken near where you collected your blue Omphalina-like specimen the other possibility is Polytrichum piliferum. I think this is the moss shown in the photos of the Omphalina. On the other hand, the moss in the photo of the Octospora (=Neotiella) rutilans) has distinct reddish tips and so may well be Polytrichum juniperinum.

Polytrichum piliferum tends to be smaller than P. juniperinum and it has long whitish rather than reddish tooth points on the end of the leaves. Both species are found in similar habitats.

Ken

[RobSutton]

Originally Posted by Fungus Ken

In Polytrichum juniperinum the leaves are drawn out into sharp orange-reddish tips. This reddish leaf tip is a very useful and consistent field character but I can't really see any signs of red tips in your photo.

...

Polytrichum piliferum tends to be smaller than P. juniperinum and it has long whitish rather than reddish tooth points on the end of the leaves. Both species are found in similar habitats.

Ken

I put it down as juniperinum because I thought I could see reddish tips to the leaves and I couldn't see the long white tips that piliferum has. I found that enlarging the photo made it slightly clearer but it does highlight the problem of trying to identify things from photos.

[Fungus Ken]

Originally Posted by RobSutton

I put it down as juniperinum because I thought I could see reddish tips to the leaves and I couldn't see the long white tips that piliferum has. I found that enlarging the photo made it slightly clearer but it does highlight the problem of trying to identify things from photos.

You may well be right with Polytrichum juniperinum in this photo. The photo isn't crisp enough for me to be sure either way, not being much of a moss man myself. I was just offering another alternative.

It's probably about as appropriate to try to identify mosses from a photo as it is to try to identify mushrooms. Largely it's just an educated guess and you really don't have all the information you need to make the identification.

I always counsel against it... but then find myself having a go anyway. But it's fun to have a go nevertheless and the forum would be a lot less interesting without the discussions on unidentified specimens.

Ken