E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Species description:
Name from Greek and applied originally to a foliose lichen. Species name referring to the brilliant opalescent red-purple sporangium.

Reproduction:
Sporophytes frequent, opalescent red-purple when mature and with a slender soft seta.

Comments:
This is a strikingly beautiful moss for which few collections are known in the province.

Distinguishing characteristics:
The opalescent red-purple, umbrella-like sporangia are diagnostic.

Habit:
Short, shiny, light to dark green turfs usually not obvious without sporophytes attached.

Similar Species:
S. luteum is of similar form but with pale yellow spo­rangia; it is found in open forests rather than boggy or swampy habitats. S. ampullaceum is also purplish to pink and occurs in habitats like those of S. rubrum but, in S. ampullaceum, the sporangium is much smaller with an inflated lower portion of the sporangium narrower than the skirt-like one of S. rubrum.