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Stair-step Moss

Mosses and Liverworts

Stair-step moss, Hylocomium splendens, also called glittering woodmoss, is a moss of the family Hylocomiaceae recognizable by its branches, which arch upward each year from the midpoint of the previous year's growth, building a stepped, feathery structure whose annual layers can be counted to estimate the plant's age. Olive green to reddish in color, it dominates the forest floor of boreal and subalpine forests across Europe, Russia, Alaska and Canada, and also grows in Arctic tundra and at high elevation in more southern regions including California, Sichuan, East Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the West Indies; in Scotland it is a defining ground-layer species of the Caledonian Forest.

Facts
Classification
Diet
Photosynthetic Autotroph 1
System (Realm)
Terrestrial 1
Scientific Name
Hylocomium splendens 2
Connections

Child Taxon Of

Plantae, Taxa
Source Wikidata: Feather Moss

In Biome

Boreal Forest, Biomes
Source Wikipedia: Hylocomium splendens

In Ecosystem

Source Wikipedia: Hylocomium splendens
Source Wikipedia: Hylocomium splendens
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Hylocomium splendens
  • lead sentence (diet), EntityId 313802
    Hylocomium splendens, commonly known as glittering woodmoss, splendid feather moss, stairstep moss, and mountain fern moss, is a perennial clonal moss with a widespread distribution in Northern Hemisphere boreal forests.
  • lead paragraph (habitat realm), EntityId 313802
    Hylocomium splendens, commonly known as glittering woodmoss, splendid feather moss, stairstep moss, and mountain fern moss, is a perennial clonal moss with a widespread distribution in Northern Hemisphere bore
  • In Biome: Boreal Forest, Wikipedia intro: "ountain fern moss, is a perennial clonal moss with a widespread distribution in Northern Hemisphere boreal forests. It is commonly found in Europe, Russia, Alas..."
  • In Ecosystem: Arctic Tundra, article text (ecosystem), EntityId 313802, target E291542
    It also grows in the Arctic tundra and further south at higher elevations in, for example, northern California, western Sichuan, East Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the West Indies.
  • In Ecosystem: Canadian Boreal Forest, article text (ecosystem), EntityId 313802, target E266744
    Hylocomium splendens, commonly known as glittering woodmoss, splendid feather moss, stairstep moss, and mountain fern moss, is a perennial clonal moss with a widespread distribution in Northern Hemisphere boreal forests.
View the Source
2. Wikipedia: Hylocomium splendens
WikipediaWikidata Q149101 (P225 taxon name)View the Source
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
International Union for Conservation of NatureView the Source
GBIF Species API
GBIF Species APIView the Source
Wikidata: Feather Moss
  • Wikidata Q149101, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
  • Child Taxon Of: Plantae, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chain
View the Source
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