Pohlia scotica, commonly known as Scottish Thread-moss, is a moss

Moss

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...

 endemic to Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. The earliest records date to 1964 and this moss was recognised as a distinct species in 1982. The largest populations are in Argyll

Argyll

Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...

 with smaller populations in Dunbartonshire

Dunbartonshire

Dunbartonshire or the County of Dumbarton is a lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Until 1975 it was a county used as a primary unit of local government with its county town and administrative centre at the town...

 and Easter Ross

Ross-shire

Ross-shire is an area in the Highland Council Area in Scotland. The name is now used as a geographic or cultural term, equivalent to Ross. Until 1889 the term denoted a county of Scotland, also known as the County of Ross...

. Its favoured habitat is silt, sand and gravel subject to regular inundation. The species has been provisionally classified as Lower Risk (Near threatened) and receives protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom and was implemented to comply with the Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds...

.

See also

• Other endemic Scottish species:
  • Bryoerythrophyllum caledonicum
    Bryoerythrophyllum caledonicum
    Bryoerythrophyllum caledonicum, commonly known as Scottish Beard-moss, is a moss endemic to Scotland. Recognised as a distinct species in 1982, it had been collected occasionally from 1891 onwards under other names. The largest populations are in the Breadalbane mountains including Ben Lawers with...
    
    
  • Bryum dixonii
    Bryum dixonii
    Bryum dixonii, commonly known as Dixon's Thread-moss, is a moss endemic to Scotland. The species occupies montane habitats, and although rare it has a wide distribution including the central and north-west Highlands, and the islands of Skye, Rùm and St Kilda. Originally discovered on Ben Narnain,...
    
    
• Didymodon mamillosus
  Didymodon mamillosus
  Didymodon mamillosus, commonly known as Perthshire Beard-moss is a species of moss endemic to Europe. It occurs at only five sites including one in Scotland where it isclassified as "Critically Endangered"...
  
  
• Flora of Scotland
  Flora of Scotland
  The flora of Scotland is an assemblage of native plant species including over 1,600 vascular plants, more than 1,500 lichens and nearly 1,000 bryophytes. The total number of vascular species is low by world standard but lichens and bryophytes are abundant and the latter form a population of global...