Step By Step, Inch By Inch

Day 161: Hylocomium splendens is arguably one of the prettiest bryophytes in Pacific Northwest forests. Also known as Step Moss, it produces new frond growth annually, so that its age can be estimated with a fair degree of accuracy by counting the number of "steps" on any given stem. Where it occurs in an optimum environment, it can blanket the forest floor as a thick mat of golden-green. The stems are red and wiry, with bipinnately branched fronds (i.e., feather-like). The translucence of the foliage gives rise to another common name: Glittering Wood Moss. Like most other mosses, it prefers a moist, shaded habitat, with a particular affinity for late-succession conifer stands, especially those of spruce. It is useful to scientists for determining heavy metal pollution levels in the environment because it absorbs them with little or no damage to the moss.