Dicranum polysetum
“wavy broom moss”
Dicranum polysetum on soil hummock in meadow at Waldo, Marion County, Ohio. April 6, 2011.
Dicranum polysetum on soil hummock in meadow at Waldo, Marion County, Ohio. April 6, 2011.
Dicranum polysetum and D. scoparium on soil hummock in meadow at Waldo, Marion County, Ohio. April 6, 2011.
How to recognize wavy broom moss: Dicranum polysetum is an especially showy cushion moss. The stems are conspicuously whitish or reddish tomentose (lots of filamentous rhizoids), and the 7-10 mm leaves appear to glisten owing to wavy transverse undulations. These leaves are lanceolate, concave below, and keeled and strongly toothed above. Under the microscope the enlarged alar cells are bistratose (2 layered). The two layers can be seen by carefully focusing up and down to put first one layer in focus, and then the other. The upper leaf cells are elongate and pitted with tiny projections visible at the edge of the clear space in the middle of the cell that connect or point to other tiny projections in the neighboring cell. There are two toothed ridges on the back of the upper costa. The sporophytes are clustered in groups of 3-6 from each plant, each sporophyte has a curved capsule either inclined or horizontal.
Where to find wavy broom moss: Dicranum polysetum is sparsely but widely distributed across Ohio, occurring on soil or humus.
