Pottiaceae

This small moss was photographed in situ on a drying mud bank along a track running south from Highway 20 near the place where the highway crosses the north fork of Cache Creek, Lake County, California, on March 30th 2012. Thanks to David Toren for the identification. Note that a plant of Syntrichia sp?. can be seen at the right hand edge above the middle. Bryum argenteum, Aloina and two other acrocarps were within inches, and Tortula atrovirens was close by. Image I12-0211.

Tyenna, Tasmania, Australia

Syntrichia ruralis (Hedw.) Weber & Mohr. (synonyms include Tortula ruralis and T. ruraliformis). Gametophytes. When in a more lush condition, the leaves are usually a fairly deep green but can also appear light green-yellow as above. The leaves are tinged with red and are sub-clapsing as the base, squarrose and recurved when moist. When dry they can appear black.The spinulose awns can be as long as 0.5 to 0.75 the length of the leaf blade, sometimes shorter, and appear whitish but are mainly a translucent (hyaline) and with some reddish coloration often at the tip or base.. Grows both in soil and on rocks, often in cracks and with other other mosses. Here is it growing in a less common situation on a flat rock surface being held by connecting growth that extends to where there is soil, and the lichens are providing it with some stability since it isn't ability to affix itself to rock surfaces like say a Grimmia . The lower section section above was about the size of a small pancake and lifted right off the rock surface without any resistance.Feb. 4, 2012, Salt Lake County, Utah, approx. 4,950 ft. elev.

Syntrichia ruralis (Hedw.) Weber & Mohr. (synonyms include Tortula ruralis and T. ruraliformis). The erect setas are normally described as red (but can be reddish-greenish as above) and the capsules red-brown. Gametophytes and sporophytes. Leaves range from green to light green-yellow and are tinged with red.March 18, 2011, in the gravel bar "rough" of Old Mill Golf Course, Salt Lake County, Utah.Our most common moss species.

This moss was one of three Syntrichia species collected by B. Mishler from near Highway 20 in Lake County and photographed by me near soon after its collection. March 30th 2012, Image I12-0219.

Photographed in the field at Flying M Ranch, in the eastern Central Valley, Merced County, California, April 6th 2002. On a vertical shaded N-facing semi-overhanging rock face above a stream in otherwise open country; near Adiantum capillus-veneris. Scanned slide 044-721

Tiny mosses are always a kind of hard for me to identify - many of them are pretty similar and I'm not really willing to spend hours examining cells structure to find out, which species I'm dealing with. But in this case, it was quite easy because of distinctive capsules.You can figure out how small is it keeping in mind that "boulders" in this photo are grains of sand on a surface of concrete block.