Hanging Moss

Found on tree branches and trunks in large cushion mats, particularly on large branches in humid coniferous forests. Grows in open gaps with a lot of light.

Large moss with oval leaves ending in an acute angle. Leaves grow from stalk in an overlapping manner, creating the look of scales. This plant tends to be rusty-green to orange-green in color.

Menzies' Neckera

This moss grows out, descending from a branch or trunk. Leaflets are arranged in a flat manner and curl at the end. This moss is easy to mix up with the Neckera douglasii but tends to be darker green. The distribution of this moss extends from the Olympic Peninsula to east of the Cascades.

Douglas' Neckera

This moss grows out from a branch or trunk. Leaflets are arranged in a flat manner and curl at the end. This moss is easy to mix up with the Metaneckera menziesii but tends to be light and shivery color green. This moss is found in Washington in wet forests, its distribution spans from the Olympic rain forest to the west side of the Cascades. It is found mostly in coastal forests.

Shag Carpet Moss

This extremely common coastal species forms large mats on tree trunks, logs and tree bases. It is very rarely found on rocks. Each leaflet, formed by radiating leaves off a central stalk, form a small soft tuft that is greenish silver in color. This tuft is approximately 1/4-1/2 inches long. Each tuft grows from a rhizome (root structure) which grows right alongside the bark. A moss mat of this species resembles a soft shag carper, not to be mixed up with its close relative Homalothecium nuttalli. Homalothecium nuttalli has shorter leaflets, resembling a short shag carpet, and the leaves are more golden in color.

Grows in similar environments as the Homalothecium fulgescens. This species is easy to identify due to its beautiful golden color. The leaves grow from the rhizome (root structure), but only reach 1/8 inch in length. The moss grows close the bark, creating woven patterns of gold on the tree trunk.

Curly Hypnum

This greenish-yellow species has a very characteristic feature. The ends of the leaves tend to curl. The leaflets radiate off a central rhizome (root structure) opposite each other. The leaflets are inconsistent in length.

Cat-tail Moss/Witches Hair

Magnificant Moss

This species is only found in humid coastal rain forests or the west coast. Its leaves are attached to a single costa (stem) that attaches to the rhizome (root structure). The rhizome is brown and furry with hairs. Each leaflet (structure made up of leaves) stands independently of other leaflets. An individual moss structure can reach up to an inch in hieght and resembles a mini tree.

Rough Moss

This species is one of the lesser common of the canopy mosses. It is yellow-green in color. The leaflets are formed by tiny leaves that are concave (curling in at the base and tip of each leaf). The leaflet structure resembles the leaves of a cedar tree, they are scaly in appearance. A sure way of identifying this moss is to look for the mid-rib that runs down the center of the leaf.

Lyell's Bristle Moss

This moss has incredibly dark-green to dark-brown leaves and a dark-brown rhizome (root structure). The contrast between the this mosses leaves and rhizomes are most apparent of all the mosses we are identifying. The leaves radiate from the stalk and form a tuft. This moss is easily distinguished in its early stages for it looks like a small dark green tuft of hair growing from the tree bark.

Tree Ruffle Liverwort

This plant is not a moss, it is a liverwort. Liverworts are structurally different from mosses. Liverworts tend to grow right alongside the substrate. Their leaves are incredibly thin and tend lay flat against the substrate. This liverwort is dark brown in color. It has a very scaly appearance when covering a large area.

A single-celled green spore, blown through the air, lands on a substrate. If the landing spot has the right conditions (moisture and light), the spore will germinate and grow into a gametophyte. This is the part of the plant you usually see. On the branches of the gametophyte, male and female reproductive organs produce sperm and eggs. The sperm fertilizes the eggs, resulting in the formation of a sporophyte. The sporophyte consists of a capsule on the end of a stalk (seta). Spores are released from the capsule and the lifecycle once again begins.