Helodium blandowii

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Helodium blandowii
Helodium blandowii.jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Bryophyta
Class: Bryopsida
Subclass: Bryidae
Order: Hypnales
Family: Helodiaceae
Genus: Helodium
Species:
H. blandowii
Binomial name
Helodium blandowii

Helodium blandowii, also known as Blandow's helodium moss, [1] Blandow's tamarisk-moss, [2] Blandow's bogmoss, and Blandow's feathermoss, is a common moss species in Europe. It is also found in North America, Central Asia and Greenland. It is considered rare plant in the Western U.S., including Oregon and California. It occurs all around the northern hemisphere in higher latitudes, and in some places is not as rare as in the Western U.S.

Contents

Technical description

Distribution, habitat, and ecology

This species has a circumboreal distribution. [3]

The habitat of Blandow's bogmoss is montane minerotrophic or "moderately rich" fens or mires, usually with calcareous groundwater, where it forms mats and small hummocks; sometimes it can be found under graminoids and shrubs at the edges of these aquatic features, or within them in small rivulets. Associated vascular plants include Agrostis idahoensis , Betula glandulosa , Salix geyeriana , Carex limosa , Eleocharis pauciflora , and Scheuchzeria palustris . Associated mosses include Aulacomnium palustre , Calligeron stramineum , Hamatocaulis vernicosus , Meesia triquetra , Tomenthypnum nitens , Philonotis fontana , Drepanocladus vernicosus , and Hypnum lindbergii . Fens with Scorpidium spp. or Drepanocladus revolvens , however, are too ion-rich, and not suitable habitat for H. blandowii. [3] [6] [8] [9]

The species was declared extinct across the British Isles in 1901 and has not been recorded there since. [10] [11]

The fire ecology of this plant is not known; however, fens rarely burn. Excess soot from a nearby fire, however, might negatively affect habitat quality.

Conservation status and threats

U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region Sensitive Species.

California Native Plant Society List 2.3

NatureServe California State Rank: S1.3; Global Rank: G5

Fens are delicate habitats susceptible to impacts from livestock grazing, hydrologic alteration, construction and continued use of roads, and peat mining. [3] Hydrologic alteration has caused the "well-documented extinction" of this species in Britain. [12]

Field identification

This species is superficially similar to other, somewhat related mosses, but presence in a fen habitat significantly helps in identifying this moss. Its feather-like, flattened stems and branches are distinctive, as are its yellow-green colour and the presence of dense paraphyllia on the stems. The pale, yellow-green colour might at first glance look like Sphagnum , but H. blandowii can be distinguished by its pinnate growth habit, as opposed to the fasciculate habit of Sphagnum. [3] [5] [7]

Related Research Articles

Sphagnum affine, the imbricate bogmoss, is a species of peat moss or sphagnum moss which is exploited to make commercial peat products. This moss has a yellowish coloring.

Bruchia bolanderi is a rare plant of the Western U.S.: Oregon, California, and Nevada. It grows on very damp bare soil. One may distinguish it from other mosses by the capsules, which are shaped like little upside-down pear fruits.

<i>Meesia triquetra</i> Species of moss

Meesia triquetra, the three-ranked hump-moss, is a moss that occurs all around the northern hemisphere in higher latitudes.

<i>Meesia uliginosa</i> Species of moss

Meesia uliginosa, the broad-nerved hump-moss, is a rare moss of the Western U.S. It occurs all around the northern hemisphere in higher latitudes, and in some places is not as rare as in the Western U.S.

<i>Hylocomium splendens</i> Species of moss in the family Hylocomiaceae

Hylocomium splendens, commonly known as glittering woodmoss, splendid feather moss, stairstep moss, and mountain fern moss, is a perennial clonal moss with a widespread distribution in Northern Hemisphere boreal forests. It is commonly found in Europe, Russia, Alaska and Canada, where it is often the most abundant moss species. It also grows in the Arctic tundra and further south at higher elevations in, for example, northern California, western Sichuan, East Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the West Indies. In Scotland it is a characteristic species of the Caledonian Forest. Under the UK's national vegetation classification system, pinewood community W18 is named as "Pinus sylvestris-Hylocomium splendens woodland", indicating its significance in this ecosystem.

<i>Hypnum cupressiforme</i> Species of moss

Hypnum cupressiforme, the cypress-leaved plaitmoss or hypnum moss, is a common and widespread species of moss belonging to the genus Hypnum. It is found in all continents except Antarctica and occurs in a wide variety of habitats and climatic zones. It typically grows on tree trunks, logs, walls, rocks and other surfaces. It prefers acidic environments and is fairly tolerant of pollution. It was formerly used as a filling for pillows and mattresses; the association with sleep is the origin of the genus name Hypnum.

<i>Sphagnum angustifolium</i> Species of moss

Sphagnum angustifolium, the fine bogmoss, is a species of peat moss with a Holarctic distribution.

<i>Sphagnum russowii</i> Species of moss

Sphagnum russowii, Russow's sphagnum or Russow's bogmoss, is a species of peat moss with a Holarctic distribution.

<i>Sphagnum girgensohnii</i> Species of moss

Sphagnum girgensohnii, also known as Girgensohn's bogmoss, Girgensohn's sphagnum or common green peat moss, is a species of peat moss with a Holarctic and Indo-Malesian distribution.

<i>Sphagnum magellanicum</i> Species of moss

Sphagnum magellanicum, commonly called Magellanic bogmoss, Magellan's sphagnum, Magellan's peatmoss or midway peat moss, is a widespread species of moss found in wet boreal forest in the far south and southwest of South America and in northern North America and Eurasia.

<i>Sphagnum palustre</i> Species of moss

Sphagnum palustre, the prairie sphagnum or blunt-leaved bogmoss, is a species of peat moss from the genus Sphagnum, in the family Sphagnaceae. Like other mosses of this type it can soak up water up to the 30-fold amount of its own dry weight thanks to its elastic spiral fibers. S. palustre is rather frequent and is spread almost all over the world. It mainly grows in wet forests and—compared to other specimens of this genus—rarely grows in moors.

<i>Sphagnum capillifolium</i> Species of moss

Sphagnum capillifolium, the red bogmoss, northern peat moss, acute-leaved bog-moss, or small red peat moss, is a species of peat moss native to Canada, the northern United States, Greenland, and Europe. Small red peat moss can be distinguished by its sweeping, outward-curving branches that resemble tresses. Sphagnum moss can hold large amounts of water within its cells, up to 20 times its own weight. This capability is due to its dead, empty cells called hyaline cells that fill up with water. This allows the moss to survive in wet, boggy habitats around rivers and lakes.

<i>Anomobryum julaceum</i> Species of moss

Anomobryum julaceum, the slender silver-moss, is a species of bryophyte native to all continents except South America and Antarctica. A. julaceum is found widespread in the temperate regions of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Its capsules mature beginning in late fall and through the spring. It is most commonly found in wet crevices and on sandstone cliffs. Additional micro-habitats include tussock tundra with seeps and late snow melt areas and on granitic outcrops. In eastern North America it appears to be restricted to acid habitats, in the wet crevices of sandstone cliffs or other seepy niches. Overall, A. julaceum resembles species of the genus Pohlia, and its leaves are similar to those of Bryum argenteum; it can only be separated from Pohlia and Bryum using a microscope. Anomobryum julaceum can be distinguished from Bryum argenteum by its strongly julaceous, shiny leaves.

<i>Plagiomnium affine</i> Species of thyme-moss from old-growth boreal forests

Plagiomnium affine, the many-fruited thyme-moss, is a species of thyme-moss found in old-growth boreal forests in North America, Europe and Asia, growing in moist, but not wet, basic to slightly acidic micro-habitats in woodland and turf.

<i>Sphagnum fallax</i> Species of moss

Sphagnum fallax, the flat-topped bogmoss, is a moss species in the genus Sphagnum

<i>Sphagnum fuscum</i> Species of moss

Sphagnum fuscum, the rusty bogmoss or rusty peat moss, is a peat moss found commonly in Norway and Sweden, and can be found scattered across North America, the United Kingdom, and in southern to eastern Europe.

<i>Sphagnum cuspidatum</i> Species of moss

Sphagnum cuspidatum, the feathery bogmoss, toothed sphagnum, or toothed peat moss, is a peat moss found commonly in Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, the eastern coast of the United States, and in Colombia.

<i>Sphagnum fimbriatum</i> Species of moss

Sphagnum fimbriatum, the fringed bogmoss, is a slender Sphagnum moss.

<i>Warnstorfia exannulata</i> Species of plant

Warnstorfia exannulata is a leafy branching wetland moss in the genus Warnstorfia within the family Amblystegiaceae and class Bryopsida. This bryopsida moss is also known as ringless-hook moss or Warnstorfia moss. It is the most common species of the genus in wetland environments and can be difficult to distinguish from others within the genus. It grows in acidic soils like fens and bogs, or in freshwater pools and lakes.

References

  1. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Helodium blandowii". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  2. Edwards, Sean R. (2012). English Names for British Bryophytes. British Bryological Society Special Volume. Vol. 5 (4 ed.). Wootton, Northampton: British Bryological Society. ISBN   978-0-9561310-2-7. ISSN   0268-8034.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Christy, John A.; David H. Wagner (1996). "VII". Guide for the Identification of Rare, Threatened, or Sensitive Bryophytes in the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl, Western Washington, Western Oregon, and Northwestern California: A Cooperative Project of the Eugene District, USDI Bureau of Land Management; Siuslaw National Forest, USDA Forest Service; The Nature Conservancy; and the Northwest Botanical Institute. pp.  34.
  4. Lawton, Elva (1971). "Moss Flora of the Pacific Northwest". Journal of the Hattori Botanical Laboratory. Supplement No. 1: 261.
  5. 1 2 Flowers, Seville; Arthur H. Holmgren (1973). "Helodium". Mosses: Utah and the West. The Blackburn Press. p. 399.
  6. 1 2 Vitt, Dale H.; Janet E. Marsh; Robin B. Bovey (1988). "Helodium blandowii". Mosses, Lichens, and Ferns of Northwest North America. Lone Pine Publishing. p. 85.
  7. 1 2 Norris, Daniel H.; James R. Shevock (2004). "Contributions toward a Bryoflora of California: II. A Key to the Mosses". Madroño. 51 (2): 198.
  8. "Helodium blandowii". California Native Plant Society. Archived from the original on June 22, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  9. Seyer, Susan C. (1979). "New Moss Species from Crater Lake National Park, Oregon". The Bryologist. 82 (9): 82–83. doi:10.2307/3241974. JSTOR   3241974.
  10. "Species Recovery Trust – Lost Life". Archived from the original on 2019-04-28. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  11. "British Bryological Society". Archived from the original on 2019-05-31. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  12. Porky, Ron; Nick Hodges (2005). "The Dawn of Bryophytes". Mosses and Liverworts. Collins. p. 53.