Thuidium delicatulum (Delicate fern moss)

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Thuidium delicatulum (Hedw.) Schimp.

Delicate fern moss, fern moss, common fern moss

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Division	Bryophyta	Mosses
Subdivision	Musci	Mosses (all 12,000 of them)
Class	Bryopsida	Mosses with arthrodontous spore capsules, which is most of them
Subclass	Bryidae	Mosses with a double peristome with alternating tooth segments
Order	Hypnales	An order of Bryophyta or leafy mosses
Family	Thuidiaceae	A family of mosses, usually occuring in stiff, loose mats, dark green to golden brown
Genus	Thuidium	From Thuja and Latin -idium, “diminutive,” alluding to a branched habit
Species	delicatulum	Delicate

About plant names...

The delicate fern moss is perfectly named, reproducing the bipinnate or tripinnate structure of many ferns on a Lilliputian scale. These mosses are native to eastern North America, Alaska, Europe, the Caucasus, Siberia, Asia, Mexico, and South America.

Identification: "Fern fronds" are 1-3" (3-8 cm) in length, and adorn living and dead branches, as well as moist, shaded soil, humus, rocks, logs, or stumps. Fern moss may appear as deep green, yellow green, or orange-brown. The orange-brown coloration is not (necessarily) an indicator of poor health.

Online References:

Ohio University

The University of Wisconsin's Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium

Vascular Plants of the Gila Wilderness

Mountain Moss Enterprises

ZipcodeZoo.com

1/7/2012 · Beaver Brook Association Trails, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 31 × 21" (78 × 52 cm) ID is uncertain

10/10/2021 · 88 Wilderness Lane, Norway, Maine
≈ 5 × 3" (12 × 8.4 cm)

10/10/2021 · 88 Wilderness Lane, Norway, Maine
≈ 4½ × 3" (11 × 7.9 cm)

8/28/2020 · Jack’s and Litchfield Trails, Chase Reserve, Brunswick, Maine
≈ 6 × 4" (16 × 11 cm) ID is uncertain

8/29/2015 · Mount Grace, Athol, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 6" (14 × 15 cm)

8/16/2015 · Table Rock Hike, Appalacian Trail, Grafton Notch State Park
≈ 8 × 6" (20 × 14 cm)

8/16/2015 · Table Rock Hike, Appalacian Trail, Grafton Notch State Park
≈ 6 × 5" (15 × 13 cm)

The dark green moss is Dicranum scoparium. · 10/10/2021 · 88 Wilderness Lane, Norway, Maine
≈ 4 × 2½" (10 × 7 cm)

8/14/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 16 cm)

12/10/2011 · Groton Place and Sabine Woods, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm)

8/5/2023 · Oven’s Mouth Preserve, West Preserve, Boothbay, Maine

Thuidium delicatulum (Hedw.) Schimp. var. repens Kindb.

Thuidium delicatulum description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 5 Sep 2023.

9/4/2020 · Wilson’s Cove Trail, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine
≈ 3½ × 4" (9.2 × 10 cm) ID is uncertain

3/13/2016 · Gap Mountain, Troy, New Hampshire
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 12 cm)

8/14/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 9 × 6" (22 × 15 cm)

8/14/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 16 cm)

12/22/2011 · Groton Place and Sabine Woods, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 9 × 6" (22 × 14 cm)

12/10/2011 · Groton Place and Sabine Woods, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 4½ × 7" (11 × 17 cm)

8/15/2015 · Grafton Notch State Park, Newry, Maine
≈ 11 × 7" (28 × 18 cm)

8/16/2015 · Table Rock Hike, Appalacian Trail, Grafton Notch State Park
≈ 4½ × 6" (11 × 16 cm)

(The oval leaves and red berry is partridgeberry [Mitchella repens.]) · 12/10/2011 · Groton Place and Sabine Woods, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 15 cm)

8/16/2015 · Table Rock Hike, Appalacian Trail, Grafton Notch State Park
≈ 6 × 6" (16 × 14 cm)

8/5/2023 · Oven’s Mouth Preserve, West Preserve, Boothbay, Maine

Range:

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