Species description:
Genus name meaning to break off at the foot, the particular significance which is not clear. Species name referring to the leaves that become curled and twisted when dry.

Reproduction:
Sporophytes abundant in late winter and maturing in early spring; seta and sporangia red-brown and not shiny when mature and dry.

Distinguishing characteristics:
The regularly pinnate, bright yellow-green plants, the broadly triangular leaves, very contorted when dry, the rough seta and the long-snouted operculum are all distinctive.

Habit:
Pale yellow-green to bright green mats, especially vivid when humid and during the spring, shoots often forming a dense weft over the substratum. The shoots usually bear many regularly arranged lateral branches. When dry the plants are dull yellow-green to dark green and the leaves are much contorted.

Similar Species:
It is impossible to distinguish some specimens of C. bolanderi from C. crispifolium without microscopic examination of the papillae on leaf cells: in C. crispifolium there is a single usually sharp papilla for each cell, while in C. bolanderi there are several papillae on each cell. C. bolanderi is the dominant species of this genus at subalpine elevations; it also occurs, infrequently, near sea level; east of the Coast Range, C. bolanderi is the likely species.

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  Some Common Mosses of BC

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Thuidium crispifolium (Hook.) Lindb.