Polytrichum juniperum
“juniper haircap moss”
Polytrichum juniperinum at Conkle’s Hollow State Nature Preserve, Hocking County, Ohio. January 1, 2014.
Polytrichum juniperinum at Conkle’s Hollow State Nature Preserve, Hocking County, Ohio. January 1, 2014.
Polytrichum juniperinum at Deep Woods Preserve, Hocking County, Ohio. July 20, 2007.
Polytrichum juniperinum at Deep Woods Preserve, Hocking County, Ohio. July 20, 2007.
How to recognize juniper haircap moss: This is another “star-shaped” moss from above when moist. Polytrichum juniperinum is a bluish-green haircap moss whose leaves differ from most of the other Polytrichum species with the leaf edges folding over the lamellae on the surface of the leaf and meeting in the center. The tips of leaves come to a reddish-brown point or awn. If the plants are not growing in a bog on a Sphagnum hummock, the leaf appearance is enough to give you the field identification of P. juniperinum. If it is associated with Sphagnum it is probably Polytrichum strictum, which is very similar in appearance, Cross-sections of the leaf show the pyriform (pear-shaped) upper cells of the lamellae and the leaf edges incurved around the lamellae.
Where to find juniper haircap moss: Polytrichum juniperinum is found in moist wooded habitats, but also in drier sunlit areas.
