Orthodicranum flagellare
(formerly Dicranum flagellare)
“whip fork moss”
Dicranum flagellare on hummock in meadow at Delaware State park, Waldo, Marion County, Ohio. May 25, 2011.
Dicranum flagellare on hummock in meadow at Delaware State park, Waldo, Marion County, Ohio. May 25, 2011.
Dicranum flagellare on hummock in meadow at Delaware State park, Waldo, Marion County, Ohio. May 25, 2011.
How to recognize whip fork moss: Dicranum flagellare is a tufted acrocarp (cushion moss) with narrow leaves. It regularly produces in the axils of the upper leaves rigid stout 1-4 mm brood-branches with reduced leaves, as a means of asexual reproduction. These break off the parent plants and form new plants. The upper part of the leaf is a tubulose subula, with the back of the leaf smooth, and the cells are mostly short rectangular. Like all Dicranums, the alar cells are enlarged and bulging, forming distinct groups of one layer of cells in this species. The capsules are erect.
Where to find whip fork moss: Dicranum flagellare is common across Ohio, especially on rotten logs and stumps. It is also found on bark and soil at base of trees.
