Dicranum majus Greater Fork-moss

A large, dioicous, acrocarpous moss which grows in sheltered, acidic, deciduous and coniferous woodland. It also grows outside woodland on rock ledges and on heathy slopes. It is perhaps most typical of the bryophyte ground flora of mossy, upland Sessile-oak woodland in the west of Britain growing with Rhytidiadelphus loreus and Plagiothecium undulatum. It is larger than Dicranum scoparium and bears long leaves which are more curved. It is a common moss in suitable habitats in west and north of Britain and is widespread in Wales. In West Galmorgan it is most common in Neath Port Talbot where it is frequently encountered in damp, maturing Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) forests as much as in oak woodland. Sporophyte capsules are frequent in hich rainfall areas.