Pleurozium schreberi (Willd. ex Brid.) Mitt.

Common Names and Growth Form

Pleurozium schreberi, commonly known as red-stemmed feathermoss or Schreber's big red stem moss, is a moss species with a loose growth pattern.

Etymology

The prefix 'pleuro-' comes from the Latin word for ribs, and this may reference how the species' branches extend from its stem.

General Distribution

This moss is commonly found growing on the forest floor of boreal forests in Canada, Scandinavia, and northern Russia.

Characteristic Habitat

It is a characteristic component of black spruce/feathermoss climax forests, which sometimes have a moderately dense overstory canopy, and a forest floor dominated by feathermosses including Hylocomium splendens and Ptilium crista-castrensis.

Herbicide Sensitivity

One study that examined the effect of the herbicide Asulam on moss growth found that Pleurozium schreberi has intermediate sensitivity to Asulam exposure.