This tiny moss, growing as a 1-2mm deep mat on a still upright old rotting fence post, is evading identification. A shoot next to the edge of a millimetre rule shows how small it is. This, along with the fact that my moss is definitely not a pincushion, makes me doubt that it could be Common Pincushion moss (Dicranoweisia cirrata), which is where the ID elimination keys keep leading me.
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I suppose what I need to do is find an identifiable sample of D.cirrata and compare but other descriptions in my moss book (ISBN 978-0-9561310-1-0) also do not fit this moss. Things like "capsules are common"... er, no, though I think I found one >>
Elliptical gemmae to be found on the backs of leaves are mentioned as occurring 'often'. I didn't find any of those either.
The moss appears to have a protonemal mat between the shoots as shown in the photos and the wood of the fence post.
<< There are some protonemata in this pic. I need a more powerful microscope!
11 Nov
Today I found a Common Pincushion and, as might be expected, it really does look like a pincushion. See pic below.
With the help of some members of a botanical and bryological Facebook group I've come to the conclusion that Tiny Moss up top is Cape Thread Moss (Orthodontium lineare). The elimination keys also took me there a few times but the pictures of the moss, with masses of capsules, put me off because I struggled to find even one capsule on the Boggy Brae sample. I need to look at Cape Thread Moss again in the spring.
This moss identifying lark sure is a steep learning curve.
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