Catherine’s moss

Again an oft-ignored bit of biodiversity, I saw this Catherine’s moss, aka Common Smoothcap Moss (Atrichum undulatum), while near the Valleyfield play area. Had I not been looking down at the ground for signs of life, I probably would have missed it, despite its bright green color. This moss is a little larger than most, with its stems reaching 5-7 cm and its pointed leaves reaching up to 1 cm. I was able to identify this moss because of its seta (the brown stalks) with the distinctive brown capsules at their tips. These capsules are its spore bearing structures, and in Catherine’s moss are are cylindrical and nearly at right angles to the seta, with a distinctive beaked shape.

Fun Fact: This moss has been named and renamed many times! The name ‘Catherine’s moss’ was given to the moss in honor of the Russian Tsarina Catherine II! This name is still used today, even in academia.