Homalothecium nuttallii (Wils.) Jaeg. & Sauerb.
Nuttall's homalothecium moss
Brachytheciaceae
Species Account Author: Wilf Schofield
Extracted from Some Common Mosses of BC
Introduction to the Bryophytes of BC
Nuttall's homalothecium moss
Brachytheciaceae
Species Account Author: Wilf Schofield
Extracted from Some Common Mosses of BC
Introduction to the Bryophytes of BC
Species Information
Species description:
Species named in honour of T. Nuttall, an important American botanist of the early 19th century.
Reproduction:
Sporophytes frequent, maturing in spring, suberect, long-cylindric, and red-brown when mature.
Distinguishing characteristics:
The usually slender shoots and branches, the glossy, pale yellow-green colour, the frequent branching, the subÂerect cylindric sporangia and the usually epiphytic habitat distinguish this species.
Habit:
Forming bright glossy, yellow-green strands or mats closely or loosely affixed to substratum, usually densely and regularly short branched and the branches coiling upward from the substratum when dry. Sometimes pendent and weakly branched.
Similar Species:
See notes under Homalothecium aeneum. H. pinnatifidum, a species of rock and among grasses is usually very regularly pinnate and is not firmly attached to the substratum; sometimes the apical portion of the plant, including its branches, coils upward when dry. In H. nuttallii the main shoot is affixed to the substratum, thus the branches curl. H. nevadense, a species of the interior, is confined to rock surfaces, and is larger and forms dense turf-like masses of congested branches; H. nuttallii is unknown from the interior.
Illustration
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
Habitat and Range
Habitat
Usually epiphytic, especially on broad-leafed trees (especially poplar, maple and oak) but also on western red cedar and yew, also on cliffs; most frequently on perpendicular surfaces. Range
World DistributionConfined to western North America, especially near the Pacific coast, from southeastern Alaska to southern California.
Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Camptothecium hamatidens var. tenue Kindb.
Camptothecium hematidens (Kindb.) Kindb.
Camptothecium nuttallii (Wilson) Schimp.
Homalothecium nuttallii var. hamatidens (Kindb.) Grout
Homalothecium nuttallii var. stoloniferum (Lesq.) L.F. Koch
Homalothecium nuttallii var. tenue (Kindb.) Grout