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meesia moss

Scientific Name: Meesia uliginosa

Family: Meesiaceae

Category: Moss

Growth: Nonvascular

Duration:

Other Names:

       

Meesia Mosses

This page provides information on several moss species within the genus Meesia, including Meesia triquetra and Meesia uliginosa.

Considerations for Pets

  • These mosses are sometimes found in gardens.

Scientific Name and Common Names

  • Scientific Name: Meesia triquetra (and other Meesia species like Meesia uliginosa)
  • Common Name: Meesia moss, Three-ranked Thread Moss, Three-angled Hump-moss, Broad-nerved Hump-moss

Taxonomy and Nomenclature

  • Kingdom: Not explicitly mentioned but implicitly Plantae (based on being a moss)
  • Division: Bryophyta
  • Class: Bryopsida
  • Order: Bryales
  • Family: Meesiaceae
  • Synonyms: Mnium triquetrum, Meesia triquetra (L. ex Jolycl.)

Distribution and Habitat

  • These mosses are found all around the northern hemisphere in higher latitudes.
  • Meesia uliginosa is a rare moss of the Western U.S.
  • Meesia triquetra has been found in peat deposits in NW Iran as a subfossil.

Morphological Characteristics

  • General Appearance: Acrocarpous (Vitt 1988), scattered or tufted.
  • Color: Dark green to yellow-green, often blackish below.
  • Stems: 2-14 cm tall, simple, but occasionally a little branched.
  • Meesia uliginosa forms dark green tufts up to 5 cm tall, with leaves 2–6 mm long.
  • Leaves are spreading to squarrose ovate-lanceolate.
  • Asymmetrical, curved capsule.

Ecological Role

  • Some Meesia species, such as Meesia uliginosa, occur where there is some lime in the run-off.

Further Information

  • Encyclopedia of Life
  • GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility)
  • CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants (for Meesia uliginosa in California)
  • Tropicos (Missouri Botanical Garden)
  • ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System)
  • Biopix for images.