Specimen 10: Anomadon rostratus

Figure 1: A bright green mat of Anomadon rostratus growing beside a tree. 

Figure 2:Leaves are less than two millimeters with costa present (Magnification x15)

Name: Anomadon rostratus
Phylum: Bryophyta
Family: Thuidiaceae
Common Name: Yellow yarn moss
Collection Date: September 4, 2015 
Habitat: On the ground, near the base of an old tree. In a backyard setting.
Location: Hiram College campus, Hiram, Ohio
Description: Bright, green, thick pleurocarpic moss. Leaves are approximately 1 mm long, lance-shaped with a midrib and are abundant and compact on branches, making the branches look fuzzy.
Collector: Linden Glaze

Key used: McKnight, Karl B. et al. 2013. Common Mosses of the Northeast and Appalachians. Princeton University Texts, New Jersey.

Keying steps:
Key Features Path to the Keys (pg. 16):
Key Feature 1: Growth Form.... Pleurocarp
Key Feature 2: Leaf Shape.... lance-like pleurocarp
Key Structure 3: Midrib..... lance-like pleurocarp with midrib... Key VI pg. 358

Key VI: Pleurocarps with lance-shaped leaves with midrib
1, Plants rarely more than 3 cm. above substrate... 7
7. Terrestrial.... 8
8. Leaves less than 2mm long...... 9
9. Grows in tangled carpets or mats.... 10
10. Shoots lack cluster of branchlets at tips...... 11
11. Plants crowded, short branches arising from creeping stems...... 12
12. Leaves spreading only slightly from the stem..... Anomadon rostratus (pg. 217)