Bonfire moss is a tiny moss that moves onto old campfire sites, burned ground, and freshly disturbed soil, often among the first plants to return. Its stems are only about 1/8–3/8 in (3–10 mm) tall, but its long wiry stalks topped with lopsided, pear-shaped make it easy to spot. It grows across North America and much of the world, and is also called common cord-moss.
Appearance
- Appearance
- A soft, light green moss with a small rosette of oval leaves near the ground. In sunny spots, the leaves may turn orange-red before withering in the summer heat.
- Growth form
- Grows upright in dense little tufts.
Look-alikes
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Burned ground
- Old campfire sites
- Disturbed soil
- Flowerpots and greenhouses
- Sidewalks and walls
- Range
- Found nearly worldwide, especially in temperate regions, and widespread across North America; in Illinois, for example, it probably grows in every county.
- Preferred conditions
- Prefers moist, bare, often nutrient-rich soil in sun to light shade, such as abandoned farm fields, roadsides, railroad edges, and patio cracks.
Life cycle
- Reproduction
- Spore stalks run about 3/4–2 in (2–5 cm) long, green at first and red when mature. They twist and untwist as the humidity changes, which helps shake the spores loose. It is one of the earliest mosses to produce capsules in spring, and spores are usually released from late spring to midsummer.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- The species name hygrometrica refers to the way its stalks twist and untwist with changes in humidity, like a tiny humidity gauge.
- It can be a stubborn weed in greenhouses and nursery pots.
More species to explore
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