Helodium blandowii
Encyclopedia
Blandow's bogmoss also known as Blandow's feathermoss, is a rare plant
in the Western U.S., including Oregon
and California
. It occurs all around the northern hemisphere in higher latitudes, and in some places is not as rare as in the Western U.S.
The habitat of Blandow's bogmoss is montane “minerotrophic” or “moderately rich” fen
s or mires, usually with calcareous groundwater, where it forms mats and small hummocks; sometimes it can be found under graminoids and shrubs at the edges of these aquatic features, or within them in small rivulets. Associated vascular plants include Agrostis idahoensis
, Betula glandulosa, Salix geyeriana
, Carex limosa
, Eleocharis pauciflora, and Scheuchzeria palustris. Associated mosses include Aulacomnium palustre
, Calligeron stramineum, Hamatocaulis vernicosus, Meesia triquetra
, Tomenthypnum nitens, Philonotis fontana, Drepanocladus vernicosus, and Hypnum lindbergii. Fens with Scorpidium spp. or Drepanocladus revolvens, however, are too ion
-rich, and not suitable habitat for H. blandowii.
The fire ecology
of this plant is not known; however, fen
s rarely burn. Excess soot from a nearby fire, however, might negatively affect habitat
quality.
Pacific Southwest Region Sensitive Species.
California Native Plant Society
List 2.3
NatureServe
California State Rank: S1.3; Global Rank: G5
Fens are delicate habitats susceptible to impacts from livestock
grazing
, hydrologic alteration, construction and continued use of roads, and peat
mining. Hydrologic alteration has caused the “well-documented extinction
” of this species in Britain
.
es, but presence in a fen
habitat significantly helps in identifying this moss. Its feather-like, flattened stems and branches are distinctive, as are its yellow-green colour and the presence of dense paraphyllia on the stems. The pale, yellow-green colour might at first glance look like Sphagnum
, but H. blandowii can be distinguished by its pinnate growth habit, as opposed to the fasciculate habit of Sphagnum.
Rare species
A rare species is a group of organisms that are very uncommon or scarce. This designation may be applied to either a plant or animal taxon, and may be distinct from the term "endangered" or "threatened species" but not "extinct"....
in the Western U.S., including Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It occurs all around the northern hemisphere in higher latitudes, and in some places is not as rare as in the Western U.S.
Technical description
- PlantPlantPlants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
s yellow-green, in loose tufts: ascending even though pleurocarpous, regularly and closely pinnately branched, the branches all in one plane like a featherFeatherFeathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
. - StemPlant stemA stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaves, inflorescence , conifer cones, roots, other stems etc. The internodes distance one node from another...
s 4–11 cm long, more or less erect (quite stiff when dry), densely clothed in unbranched (but lobed) green filamentous paraphyllia becoming brown below. - BranchBranchA branch or tree branch is a woody structural member connected to but not part of the central trunk of a tree...
es unequal, simple, widely spaced on stem, about 1 cm long. - Stem leaves large, more or less triangular-ovate, shortly and slenderly acuminate, somewhat plicate (concave), appressed except at the tips, with paraphyllia emanating from the decurrent leaf bases; margins plane or often revolute, entire or irregularly serrulate or dentate in the middle and lower part of the leaf; costa extending beyond the middle, 1.3–1.8 × 0.7–1 mm.
- Branch leaves small (about 0.8 mm long) and contorted when dry, broadly ovate-acuminate to ovate-lanceolate. Autoicous, the perigonia and perichaetia on the stems.
- Seta 3–5 cm long, slender, reddish-brown.
- Capsules rare; when present, smooth, oblong-cylindric, becoming strongly arcuate (curved) and cernuous (incurved), the short neck somewhat wrinkled, the urn 2½–3½ mm long, yellowish-brown becoming reddish-brown with age; operculum conic, pointed, to 0.8 mm long; annulus of 3 rows of deciduous cells; cilia 2–3, long, and more or less appendiculate.
- SporeSporeIn biology, a spore is a reproductive structure that is adapted for dispersal and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many bacteria, plants, algae, fungi and some protozoa. According to scientist Dr...
s smooth, mature in August. - Calyptra cucullate.
Distribution, habitat, and ecology
This species has a circumboreal distribution.The habitat of Blandow's bogmoss is montane “minerotrophic” or “moderately rich” fen
Fen
A fen is a type of wetland fed by mineral-rich surface water or groundwater. Fens are characterised by their water chemistry, which is neutral or alkaline, with relatively high dissolved mineral levels but few other plant nutrients...
s or mires, usually with calcareous groundwater, where it forms mats and small hummocks; sometimes it can be found under graminoids and shrubs at the edges of these aquatic features, or within them in small rivulets. Associated vascular plants include Agrostis idahoensis
Agrostis idahoensis
Agrostis idahoensis is a species of grass known by the common name Idaho bent grass. It is native to western North America from Alaska to California to Colorado, where it grows in several habitat types.-Description:...
, Betula glandulosa, Salix geyeriana
Salix geyeriana
Salix geyeriana is a species of willow known by the common names Geyer's willow, Geyer willow and silver willow. The type specimen was collected by the botanist Karl Andreas Geyer, for whom it was named...
, Carex limosa
Carex limosa
Carex limosa is a species of sedge known by the common names mud sedge and shore sedge.-Distribution:This sedge is an aquatic or shore plant which can most often be found in peat bogs in mountains. It is distributed across North America and Eurasia.-Description:Carex limosa has a large rhizome and...
, Eleocharis pauciflora, and Scheuchzeria palustris. Associated mosses include Aulacomnium palustre
Aulacomnium palustre
Aulacomnium palustre is a moss that is nearly cosmopolitan in distribution. It occurs in North America, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Eurasia, and New Zealand. In North America, it occurs across southern arctic, subboreal, and boreal regions from Alaska and British Columbia to Greenland and...
, Calligeron stramineum, Hamatocaulis vernicosus, Meesia triquetra
Meesia triquetra
Threeranked humpmoss , is a moss that occurs all around the northern hemisphere in higher latitudes.- Technical description :...
, Tomenthypnum nitens, Philonotis fontana, Drepanocladus vernicosus, and Hypnum lindbergii. Fens with Scorpidium spp. or Drepanocladus revolvens, however, are too ion
Ion
An ion is an atom or molecule in which the total number of electrons is not equal to the total number of protons, giving it a net positive or negative electrical charge. The name was given by physicist Michael Faraday for the substances that allow a current to pass between electrodes in a...
-rich, and not suitable habitat for H. blandowii.
The fire ecology
Fire ecology
Fire ecology is concerned with the processes linking the natural incidence of fire in an ecosystem and the ecological effects of this fire. Many ecosystems, such as the North American prairie and chaparral ecosystems, and the South African savanna, have evolved with fire as a natural and necessary...
of this plant is not known; however, fen
Fen
A fen is a type of wetland fed by mineral-rich surface water or groundwater. Fens are characterised by their water chemistry, which is neutral or alkaline, with relatively high dissolved mineral levels but few other plant nutrients...
s rarely burn. Excess soot from a nearby fire, however, might negatively affect habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
quality.
Conservation status and threats
U.S. Forest ServiceUnited States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
Pacific Southwest Region Sensitive Species.
California Native Plant Society
California Native Plant Society
The California Native Plant Society is a California not-for-profit organization that seeks to increase understanding of California's native flora and to preserve that flora. Its "paramount purpose is to preserve wild plants".-History:...
List 2.3
NatureServe
NatureServe
NatureServe is a non-profit conservation organization whose mission is to provide the scientific basis for effective conservation action. NatureServe and its network of natural heritage programs are the leading source for information about rare and endangered species and threatened ecosystems in...
California State Rank: S1.3; Global Rank: G5
Fens are delicate habitats susceptible to impacts from livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
grazing
Grazing
Grazing generally describes a type of feeding, in which a herbivore feeds on plants , and also on other multicellular autotrophs...
, hydrologic alteration, construction and continued use of roads, and peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
mining. Hydrologic alteration has caused the “well-documented extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
” of this species in Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
.
Field identification
This species is superficially similar to other, somewhat related mossMoss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
es, but presence in a fen
Fen
A fen is a type of wetland fed by mineral-rich surface water or groundwater. Fens are characterised by their water chemistry, which is neutral or alkaline, with relatively high dissolved mineral levels but few other plant nutrients...
habitat significantly helps in identifying this moss. Its feather-like, flattened stems and branches are distinctive, as are its yellow-green colour and the presence of dense paraphyllia on the stems. The pale, yellow-green colour might at first glance look like Sphagnum
Sphagnum
Sphagnum is a genus of between 151 and 350 species of mosses commonly called peat moss, due to its prevalence in peat bogs and mires. A distinction is made between sphagnum moss, the live moss growing on top of a peat bog on one hand, and sphagnum peat moss or sphagnum peat on the other, the...
, but H. blandowii can be distinguished by its pinnate growth habit, as opposed to the fasciculate habit of Sphagnum.