Isothecium myosuroides Slender Mouse-tail Moss

A very common, dioicous, pleurocarpous moss which grows on trees and rocks, often forming a deep and extensive covering on trunks, branches and logs. Hilary Hipkin used to say that it was the most comfortable moss to sit on. The tree-like (dendroid) growth form and the long drawn-out acumen of the toothed leaf tip (see photo and compare with blunt leaf tip of Isothecium alopecuroides) are good field characters. It is found throughout Britain although it did suffer significant decreases in abundance during the 20th Century as a result of air pollution. Along with Hypnum andoi, it is one of the most common epiphytes in the oak woodlands of West Glamorgan, but it is less common in conifer plantations. Sporophyte capsules are common in winter.