Scientific Name:
Bryophyta
(Division)
Common Name:
moss
Family Name:
(various)
Plant Type:
Weed (horticultural)
Key ID Features:
Leaves with veins absent (instead have microphylls with a midrib-like "costa").
Habit:
Horizontal, Irregular, Spreading
Form:
Creeping / Mat-like
Texture:
Fine
Mature Height:
< 0.1m
Mature Spread:
< 0.1m
Growth Rate:
Slow
Origin:
North America
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 2: (-46 to -40 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun only if soil kept moist, Part sun/part shade, Filtered shade, Deep shade
Soil/Growing Medium:
Landscape Uses:
Rock garden
Additional Info:
Google. Lawn moss can either be controlled or nurtured like in Japanese gardens.
Common local species in lawns include
Atrichum selwynii (Polytrichaceae),
Brachythecium rutabulum (Brachytheciaceae),
Calliergonella cuspidata (Amblystegiaceae),
Ceratodon purpureus (Ditrichaceae),
Eurhynchium praelongum (Brachytheciaceae),
Funaria hygrometrica (Funariaceae), and
Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus (Hylocomiaceae).
See Wikipedia for moss family characteristics.
Common liverworts in lawns include Plagiomnium spp. (Mniaceae).
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple
Arrangement:
Spiraled
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible
Surfaces:
Glabrous
Colour in Fall:
Green
Shapes:
Ovate, Other
Apices:
Acute
Bases:
Truncate
Margins:
Entire
Additional Info:
referred to as 'microphylls'
Inflorescence Type:
Flower Morphology:
Colour (petals):
No flowers
Flower Time at Peak:
Fruit Type:
Capsule, Sporangium (spores)
Fruit Colour:
Green, Brown
Fruiting Time:
Additional Info:
See Lab Review Lower (Spore) Plants for more images.
Bark or Stem Colour:
Pest Susceptibility:
(Pest resistant, Disease resistant)
