Splendid Feather Moss

Foodplant / parasite
fruitbody of Chromocyphella muscicola parasitises live gametophyte of Hylocomium splendens

splendid feather moss
mountain-fern moss
stair-step moss
feather moss
step moss

Splendid feather moss is a perennial, relatively large, robust moss, occurring in wide loose patches, and often forming mats [8,14].  Stems are 3.9 to 5.9 inches (10-15 cm) in length.  Splendid feather moss has tiny, long, filamentous rhizoids that can transport soil water remarkably long vertical distances to green surface tissues [23].  The average life span of this moss is 8 years [5].

Splendid feather moss occurs from Greenland to Alaska, south to North Carolina, and west to Oregon and California.  It also occurs in the West Indies, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand [9,14,16].

More info for the term: fire regime

Splendid feather moss is not well adapted to fire.  It typically occurs in wet stands of white or black spruce that have a fire regime of 200 to 400 years [31].  When they do burn, the moss/lichen layer provides the major carrier fuels.  These fuels take only minutes to reach equilibrium moisture content when the relative humidity changes; therefore, they are very flammable [23]. FIRE REGIMES: Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under "Find FIRE REGIMES".

More info for the terms: cover, frequency, shrubs

Splendid feather moss is abundant and often dominant in coniferous forests on water-shedding and water-receiving sites [18].  On such sites, this moss often develops a mat layer that may be 7.9 to 11.8 inches (20-30 cm) thick [28].  Splendid feather moss also occurs on ledges, humus and decaying wood in cool, moist ravines and mountain woods from sea level to 10,000 feet (0-3,048 m) [14].  This moss is a common moss on dune pastures in Scotland [25]. Splendid feather moss is restricted to areas sheltered by trees and shrubs [7].  It requires shade, moderate water levels, and high nutrient levels.  It is not rooted in the substrate and is nearly independent of the substrate's nutrient and water supply.  Growth is controlled by rainfall frequency and degree of protection from evaporation stress [7]. This moss quickly dries up when the canopy cover is not adequate to prevent high evaporation [17].  Growth rates are highest in habitats protected from evaporation stress, and survival is enhanced in shaded habitats or in environments with high humidity and consistent cloud cover [7]. Splendid feather moss is typically found associated with the following understory species:  salal (Gaultheria shallon), pachystima (Pachystima myrsinites), Shreber's moss (Pleurozium schreberi), Rhytidiadelphus boreus, big huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum), and red huckleberry (V. parvifolium) [18].

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This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):

     1  Jack pine
     5  Balsam fir
    12  Black spruce
    13  Black spruce - tamarack
    18  Paper birch
    24  Hemlock - yellow birch
    30  Red spruce - yellow birch
    31  Red spruce - sugar maple - beech
    32  Red spruce
    33  Red spruce - balsam fir
    34  Red spruce - Fraser fir
    35  Paper birch - red spruce - balsam fir
    37  Northern white-cedar
    38  Tamarack
   107  White spruce
   201  White spruce
   202  White spruce - paper birch
   204  Black spruce
   205  Mountain hemlock
   206  Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
   218  Lodgepole pine
   223  Sitka spruce
   224  Western hemlock
   225  Western hemlock - Sitka spruce
   226  Coastal true fir - hemlock
   251  White spruce - aspen
   253  Black spruce - white spruce
   254  Black spruce -  paper birch
   256  California mixed subalpine

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This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

   FRES10  White - red - jack pine
   FRES11  Spruce - fir
   FRES18  Maple - beech - birch
   FRES19  Aspen - birch
   FRES20  Douglas-fir
   FRES22  Western white pine
   FRES23  Fir - spruce
   FRES24  Hemlock - Sitka spruce
   FRES25  Larch
   FRES26  Lodgepole pine
   FRES44  Alpine

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This species is known to occur in association with the following plant community types (as classified by Küchler 1964):

More info for the terms: bog, forest

   K001  Spruce - cedar - hemlock forest
   K002  Cedar - hemlock - Douglas-fir forest
   K003  Silver fir - Douglas-fir forest
   K004  Fir - hemlock forest
   K005  Mixed conifer forest
   K008  Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
   K013  Cedar - hemlock - pine forest
   K014  Grand fir - Douglas-fir forest
   K015  Western spruce - fir forest
   K020  Spruce - fir - Douglas-fir forest
   K021  Southwestern spruce - fir forest
   K093  Great Lakes spruce - fir forest
   K094  Conifer bog
   K096  Northeastern spruce - fir forest
   K097  Southeastern spruce - fir forest
   K107  Northern hardwoods - fir forest
   K108  Northern hardwoods - spruce forest

More info for the term: low-severity fire

Splendid feather moss is generally killed by fire, although small patches may survive low-severity fire [31].  Some moss species on burned areas can survive as fragments in the soil [1].

Splendid feather moss is occasionally eaten by deer and caribou [15,22].

More info for the terms: cover, forest, succession

Splendid feather moss is often an indicator of stable, late stages of
succession stands dominated by white spruce (Picea glauca) or black
spruce (P. mariana) [17].  Publications listing
splendid feather moss as a
dominant ground cover are as follows:

Field guide to forest ecosystems of west-central Alberta [10].
Flood-plain succession and vegetation classification in interior Alaska [29].
Some forest types of central Newfoundland and their relation to
  environmental factors [35].
A review of forest site classification acitivities in Newfoundland and
   Labrador [36].
A preliminary classification system for vegetation of Alaska [31].

More info for the term: bryophyte

Bryophyte

More info for the terms: shrub, tree

It has been shown that tree canopy removal will kill splendid feather moss,
but removal of only the shrub canopy has a less severe effect [7].
Splendid feather moss growth is better in undisturbed areas than in
disturbed areas.  Moss growth is so closely balanced with its
microclimate that even the removal of a rather open shrub layer can have
a measurable effect on growth rates [7].

     AK  AZ  CA  CO  CT  DE  ID  IL  IN  IA
     KY  ME  MD  MA  MI  MN  MT  NH  NJ  NY
     NC  ND  OH  OR  PA  RI  SD  UT  VT  VA
     WA  WV  WI  WY  AB  BC  MB  NB  NF  NT
     NS  ON  PE  PQ  SK  YT

More info for the terms: fern, fruit

In the past splendid feather moss has been used for covering dirt floors and lining fruit and vegetable storage boxes [25]. Splendid feather moss is still used for chinking log structures in Alaska.  The wet moss is pressed into cracks between logs using a wooden chisel.  When the moss is dry, it remains compressed and stays green for the life of the cabin. In many ways it is preferable to modern material [21].  Splendid feather moss is used by florists to form banks of green in show windows [6]. Splendid feather moss is used in locating pollution sources and determining levels of pollution of heavy metals in the environment [3].  Mountain fern moss absorbs metals over its entire surface and is little influenced by variations in substrate mineralization.  Close to the source, this moss accumulates high levels of metals [25].

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The beginning of blooming in mosses is considered to occur when one or two archegonia (female gametophyte) open.  In Hernoesand, Sweden, splendid feather moss first bloomed in July.  The gametangicel developed in May or June of the following year.  In Germany, splendid feather moss first bloomed in May or June and the gametangicel developed in February or May of the following year [2].  Growth of the previous year's layer is usually resumed in early May to mid-June.  In boreal forests, growth rates were high in May, June, and August; growth slowed in October. There appears to be little if any growth activity over the winter months in high-altitude regions [7].

More info for the terms: cover, mesic

Splendid feather moss takes many years to recover following fire.  Although small patches may survive fire, it is not until a closed or nearly closed canopy is established that splendid feather moss can spread and become the dominant ground cover [31].  Ten to thirty years after fire, splendid feather moss will replace the early successional mosses and liverworts.  In mesic, high-nutrient habitats, splendid feather moss generally appears 30 to 50 years after fire and quickly becomes the most abundant ground cover [17].  However, in Finland, splendid feather moss began appearing 10 years after fire.  Recovery was slow and 50 years after fire, this moss still had not reached prefire levels [1].

Sexual reproduction:  Splendid feather moss reproduces sexually by spores. These spores are wind dispersed.  The period for gametangicel (structure containing the gametes) development for splendid feather moss is 11 months [34]. Vegetative reproduction:  Splendid feather moss reproduces vegetatively by branching laterally.  A new, readily identifiable segment is produced each year arising from the stems of the previous year's growth in a layered or steplike fashion [7,16].  In splendid feather moss, the bud which will develop into the following year's growth layer is formed at the same time that the lateral branches are initiated in the current year's layer, but further development is somehow delayed.  The buds do not start to elongate until the previous segment has completed its growth [7].  Cold treatment is not required for further development, as buds show normal development in material brought into a growth chamber later in the season and kept at temperatures above freezing. Photoperiod also seems not to be a factor.  A small proportion of buds showed some elongation in late September and October, whereas development in the field does not usually take place until the following May or June [7].

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This species can be found in the following regions of the western United States (according to the Bureau of Land Management classification of Physiographic Regions of the western United States):

    1  Northern Pacific Border
    2  Cascade Mountains
    3  Southern Pacific Border
    4  Sierra Mountains
    5  Columbia Plateau
    6  Upper Basin and Range
    8  Northern Rocky Mountains
    9  Middle Rocky Mountains
   11  Southern Rocky Mountains
   12  Colorado Plateau
   13  Rocky Mountain Piedmont
   15  Black Hills Uplift
   16  Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands

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More info for the terms: climax, cover, lichens, succession

Obligate Climax Species Splendid feather moss typically occurs in stable late stages of succession. It is very shade tolerant [7,18,27].  It will replace the shade-intolerant lichens and often becomes the dominant ground cover in late seral to climax stands of white spruce and black spruce [17,28,31].

The currently accepted scientific name for splendid feather moss is
Hylocomium splendens (Hedw.) B.S.G. There are no recognized subspecies,
varieties, or forms [9,14,16].