Brachythecium laetum
“long-capsuled ragged moss”
Brachythecium laetum October 27, 2020 in eastern Ohio’s Noble County.
How to recognize long-capsuled ragged moss: The genus Brachythecium consists of large sprawling carpet mosses (Pleurocarps) with a loosely pinnate branching pattern. The leaves are triangular-ovate and, as a distinctive feature of the genus–bear faint longitudinal folds (plications). The stems are smooth, lacking paraphyllia.
Where to find long-capsuled ragged moss: Brachythecium laetum is common in disturbed habitats such as lawns and roadbanks, as well as more natural woodland settings, where it occurs on rocks, logs and soil. The genus name “Brachythecium” is from the Greek brachys, meaning “short, “and theke, “case,” alluding to the capsule, which is broad in most species of the genus, but not this one.