Pottiaceae

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 sp. and two other acrocarps were within inches, and Tortula atrovirens was close by.

Note the rolled in leaf edges, which are a distinctive feature of this small moss.

This moss formed mats on the trunk of an oak tree near Mariah Meadows Resort (in hills Near Cobb) and is here seen photographed later from a collected piece. The small green specks seen on the upper leaf surfaces are gemmae that enable vegetative propagation.

This moss is rare in California and was growing in patches on wet rock, mostly in sheltered recesses but in an open section of the Feather River Canyon, interspersed with patches of with Mielichhoferia elongata. The moss was seen in the field on March 26th, this is an image taken at home few days later from a small piece.

Endemic to Hawaii and only known from a single area near Kilauea volcano. Similar to S. ligulata from North America. Unusual in Hawaiian plants with its' tolerance to high temperatures and high concentrations of mercury (Mashuri Waite, 'Mosses of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park', Univ. Hawaii Manoa,Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit, Tech. Report #153, Oct, 2007)