Species description:
Species name describing the shining, brightly coloured plants.

Comments:
H. lutescens, a European species, was once considered to be identical to H. fulgescens.

Distinguishing characteristics:
The usually irregularly branched, coarse plants that produce long-cylindric, somewhat curved sporangia, the pleated leaves and the usual habitat on tree trunks are useful features to separate this species.

Habit:
Forming interwoven mats of yellow-green to dark green, glossy, creeping, much-branched plants 50-170 mm long; usually at­tached to substratum by red rhizoids. Leaves strongly pleated with the midrib resembling a central pleat. Plants not curling upward markedly when dry.

Similar Species:
The irregular branching and the usual coarseness of the plants are enough to separate H. fulgescens from H. nuttal/ii. On populations on rock, the sporophyte shape distinguishes H. fulgescens from H. aeneum in which sporangia are short-cylindric and bent at a sharp angle at the seta apex. H. nevadense of the interior has erect spo­rangia, which mature in summer rather than spring, but the plants are on shaded cliffs and usually are formed of densely compacted branches that form a turf-like mass over the substratum.

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:
Camptothecium lutescens var. occidentale Renauld & Cardot