Schistostega pennata (Hedw.) Web. & Mohr
goblin's gold (schistostega moss)
Schistostegaceae
Species Account Author: Wilf Schofield
Extracted from Some Common Mosses of BC
Introduction to the Bryophytes of BC
goblin's gold (schistostega moss)
Schistostegaceae
Species Account Author: Wilf Schofield
Extracted from Some Common Mosses of BC
Introduction to the Bryophytes of BC
Species Information
Species description:
The genus name based on a wrong observation that the operculum splits. Species name describing the feather-like appearance of the vegetative leafy plant.
Comments:
Sometimes called luminous moss or fairy gold, based on the protonema that glows yellow-green from reflected light.
Distinguishing characteristics:
The very tiny plants with leaves clearly in two rows and laterally fused at the base, the seemingly leafless lower portion of the shoots, the tiny sub spherical sporangia that lack peristome teeth, added to the very shaded habitat and the "luminous" protonema, when present, are distinctive features.
Habit:
Short turfs, loosely affixed to substratum; the protonema glows with reflected light, producing a light yellow-green sheen on the substratum.
Similar Species:
Small species of Pissidens can resemble S. pennata but the leaves of Pissiden show a clear sheathing flap and a midrib, and bright red peristome teeth are characteristic in the elongate sporangium.
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
Shaded cliff crevices or, more commonly, on shaded sterile mineral soil of overturned tree roots in swampy forests and near watercourses from near sea level to sub alpine forests. Range
World DistributionCircumtemperate but widely scattered in the Northern Hemisphere; in North America from Newfoundland to southern Alaska and, in the east, southward to New York and Ohio; in the west to Washington.