The year of moss: day 5

Another moss from Ōtepatotu: Philonotis scabrifolia. This one was growing on the cliff face, tucked into a little spot where water seeps from the rock. Moist seeps or near streams is where this P. scabrifolia is usually seen. This species is widespread through the southern hemisphere, but absent from the northern hemisphere. As you can see from these photos, P. scabrifolia has a distinctive pale blue-green colour. Two other species in the genus are found in Aotearoa, but P. scabrifolia is the only one with this colour. The branching pattern of P. scabrifolia forms an umbrella shape, although this is not always obvious (photo on the left is the one I saw yesterday, without an obvious umbrella shape, photo on the right is a different observation of the same species, with clear umbrella shape). Perhaps if this species always looked like the photo on the right it would get a higher cuteness score.
Cuteness: 7/10
Distinctiveness: 9/10
LMR: 8/10

Posted on October 20, 2024 09:26 PM by fuligogirl