Hylocomium splendens, splendid feather moss
Tesky, Julie L. 1992. Hylocomium splendens, splendid feather moss. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/hylspl
| Abbreviation | Common Name | Scientific Name | Classification | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plants | ||||
| HYLSPL | splendid feather moss | Hylocomium splendens | Life Form: Plants/Bryophyte Kingdom: Plantae Class: Moss Order: Hypnales Family: Hylocomiaceae Genus: Hylocomium | Fed. Protected: No Nativity: Native Invasiveness: Noninvasive |
Taxonomy
The currently accepted scientific name for splendid feather moss is Hylocomium splendens (Hedw.) B.S.G. There are no recognized subspecies, varieties, or forms [9,14,16].
Synonyms
- No entry
Other Common Names
mountain-fern moss, stair-step moss, feather moss, step moss
General Distribution
Splendid feather moss occurs from Greenland to Alaska, south to North Carolina, and west to Oregon and California. It also occurs in the West Indies, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand [9,14,16].
States and Provinces
- United States: AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, ID, IL, IN, IA, KY, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NJ, NY, NC, ND, OH, OR, PA, RI, SD, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
- Canada: AB, BC, MB, NB, NF, NT, NS, ON, PE, PQ, SK, YT
- Mexico
Site Characteristics
Splendid feather moss is abundant and often dominant in coniferous forests on water-shedding and water-receiving sites [18]. On such sites, this moss often develops a mat layer that may be 7.9 to 11.8 inches (20-30 cm) thick [28]. Splendid feather moss also occurs on ledges, humus and decaying wood in cool, moist ravines and mountain woods from sea level to 10,000 feet (0-3,048 m) [14]. This moss is a common moss on dune pastures in Scotland [25].
Splendid feather moss is restricted to areas sheltered by trees and shrubs [7]. It requires shade, moderate water levels, and high nutrient levels. It is not rooted in the substrate and is nearly independent of the substrate's nutrient and water supply. Growth is controlled by rainfall frequency and degree of protection from evaporation stress [7]. This moss quickly dries up when the canopy cover is not adequate to prevent high evaporation [17]. Growth rates are highest in habitats protected from evaporation stress, and survival is enhanced in shaded habitats or in environments with high humidity and consistent cloud cover [7].
Splendid feather moss is typically found associated with the following understory species: salal (Gaultheria shallon), pachystima (Pachystima myrsinites), Shreber's moss (Pleurozium schreberi), Rhytidiadelphus boreus, big huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum), and red huckleberry (V. parvifolium) [18].
Plant Communities
Splendid feather moss is often an indicator of stable, late stages of succession stands dominated by white spruce (Picea glauca) or black spruce (P. mariana) [17]. Publications listing splendid feather moss as a dominant ground cover are as follows:
- Field guide to forest ecosystems of west-central Alberta [10].
- Flood-plain succession and vegetation classification in interior Alaska [29].
- Some forest types of central Newfoundland and their relation to environmental factors [35].
- A review of forest site classification activities in Newfoundland and Labrador [36].
- A preliminary classification system for vegetation of Alaska [31].
Botanical Description
Splendid feather moss is a perennial, relatively large, robust moss, occurring in wide loose patches, and often forming mats [8,14]. Stems are 3.9 to 5.9 inches (10-15 cm) in length. Splendid feather moss has tiny, long, filamentous rhizoids that can transport soil water remarkably long vertical distances to green surface tissues [23]. The average life span of this moss is 8 years [5].
Raunkiaer Life Form
- No entry
Seasonal Development
The beginning of blooming in mosses is considered to occur when one or two archegonia (female gametophyte) open. In Hernoesand, Sweden, splendid feather moss first bloomed in July. The gametangicel developed in May or June of the following year. In Germany, splendid feather moss first bloomed in May or June and the gametangicel developed in February or May of the following year [2]. Growth of the previous year's layer is usually resumed in early May to mid-June. In boreal forests, growth rates were high in May, June, and August; growth slowed in October. There appears to be little if any growth activity over the winter months in high-altitude regions [7].
Regeneration Processes
Sexual reproduction: Splendid feather moss reproduces sexually by spores. These spores are wind dispersed. The period for gametangicel (structure containing the gametes) development for splendid feather moss is 11 months [34].
Vegetative reproduction: Splendid feather moss reproduces vegetatively by branching laterally. A new, readily identifiable segment is produced each year arising from the stems of the previous year's growth in a layered or steplike fashion [7,16]. In splendid feather moss, the bud which will develop into the following year's growth layer is formed at the same time that the lateral branches are initiated in the current year's layer, but further development is somehow delayed. The buds do not start to elongate until the previous segment has completed its growth [7]. Cold treatment is not required for further development, as buds show normal development in material brought into a growth chamber later in the season and kept at temperatures above freezing. Photoperiod also seems not to be a factor. A small proportion of buds showed some elongation in late September and October, whereas development in the field does not usually take place until the following May or June [7].
Successional Status
Obligate Climax Species
Splendid feather moss typically occurs in stable late stages of succession. It is very shade tolerant [7,18,27]. It will replace the shade-intolerant lichens and often becomes the dominant ground cover in late seral to climax stands of white spruce and black spruce [17,28,31].
Immediate Fire Effects
Splendid feather moss is generally killed by fire, although small patches may survive low-severity fire [31]. Some moss species on burned areas can survive as fragments in the soil [1].
Postfire Regeneration Strategy
- No entry
Fire Adaptations
Splendid feather moss is not well adapted to fire. It typically occurs in wet stands of white or black spruce that have a fire regime of 200 to 400 years [31]. When they do burn, the moss/lichen layer provides the major carrier fuels. These fuels take only minutes to reach equilibrium moisture content when the relative humidity changes; therefore, they are very flammable [23].
Plant Response to Fire
Splendid feather moss takes many years to recover following fire. Although small patches may survive fire, it is not until a closed or nearly closed canopy is established that splendid feather moss can spread and become the dominant ground cover [31]. Ten to thirty years after fire, splendid feather moss will replace the early successional mosses and liverworts. In mesic, high-nutrient habitats, splendid feather moss generally appears 30 to 50 years after fire and quickly becomes the most abundant ground cover [17]. However, in Finland, splendid feather moss began appearing 10 years after fire. Recovery was slow and 50 years after fire, this moss still had not reached prefire levels [1].
For information on prescribed fire and postfire response of many plant species, including splendid feather moss, see Hamilton's Research Papers (Hamilton 2006a, Hamilton 2006b, Hamilton 2006c) and these Research Project Summaries:
- The effects of experimental fires in an Alaskan black spruce/feather moss community
- Forest floor and plant responses to experimental fires in an Alaskan black spruce/feather moss community
Fire Regimes
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this species may occur by entering the species name on the Advanced Search page and selecting “Fire Regime” as the publication type.
Fire Management Considerations
No entry.
Federal Status
None
Other Status
No entry.
Importance to Wildlife and Livestock
Splendid feather moss is occasionally eaten by deer and caribou [15,22].
Palatability and Nutritional Value
No entry.
Cover Value
No entry.
Value for Rehabilitation or Restoration of Disturbed Sites
No entry.
Other Uses
In the past splendid feather moss has been used for covering dirt floors and lining fruit and vegetable storage boxes [25]. Splendid feather moss is still used for chinking log structures in Alaska. The wet moss is pressed into cracks between logs using a wooden chisel. When the moss is dry, it remains compressed and stays green for the life of the cabin. In many ways it is preferable to modern material [21]. Splendid feather moss is used by florists to form banks of green in show windows [6].
Splendid feather moss is used in locating pollution sources and determining levels of pollution of heavy metals in the environment [3]. Mountain fern moss absorbs metals over its entire surface and is little influenced by variations in substrate mineralization. Close to the source, this moss accumulates high levels of metals [25].
Other Management Considerations
It has been shown that tree canopy removal will kill splendid feather moss, but removal of only the shrub canopy has a less severe effect [7]. Splendid feather moss growth is better in undisturbed areas than in disturbed areas. Moss growth is so closely balanced with its microclimate that even the removal of a rather open shrub layer can have a measurable effect on growth rates [7].
Table A1— Forest and range ecosystems, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) physiographic regions, Kuchler plant associations, Society for American Foresters (SAF) forest cover types, and Society for Rangeland Management (SRM) rangeland cover types in which this species occurs.
Forest and Range Ecosystems (Garrison et al. 1977)
- FRES10 White - red - jack pine
- FRES11 Spruce - fir
- FRES18 Maple - beech - birch
- FRES19 Aspen - birch
- FRES20 Douglas-fir
- FRES22 Western white pine
- FRES23 Fir - spruce
- FRES24 Hemlock - Sitka spruce
- FRES25 Larch
- FRES26 Lodgepole pine
- FRES44 Alpine
BLM Physiographic Regions (Bernard and Brown 1977)
- 1 Northern Pacific Border
- 2 Cascade Mountains
- 3 Southern Pacific Border
- 4 Sierra Mountains
- 5 Columbia Plateau
- 6 Upper Basin and Range
- 8 Northern Rocky Mountains
- 9 Middle Rocky Mountains
- 11 Southern Rocky Mountains
- 12 Colorado Plateau
- 13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
- 15 Black Hills Uplift
- 16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands
Kuchler Plant Associations (Kuchler 1964)
- K001 Spruce - cedar - hemlock forest
- K002 Cedar - hemlock - Douglas-fir forest
- K003 Silver fir - Douglas-fir forest
- K004 Fir - hemlock forest
- K005 Mixed conifer forest
- K008 Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
- K013 Cedar - hemlock - pine forest
- K014 Grand fir - Douglas-fir forest
- K015 Western spruce - fir forest
- K020 Spruce - fir - Douglas-fir forest
- K021 Southwestern spruce - fir forest
- K093 Great Lakes spruce - fir forest
- K094 Conifer bog
- K096 Northeastern spruce - fir forest
- K097 Southeastern spruce - fir forest
- K107 Northern hardwoods - fir forest
- K108 Northern hardwoods - spruce forest
SAF Cover Types (Eyre 1980)
- 1 Jack pine
- 5 Balsam fir
- 12 Black spruce
- 13 Black spruce - tamarack
- 18 Paper birch
- 24 Hemlock - yellow birch
- 30 Red spruce - yellow birch
- 31 Red spruce - sugar maple - beech
- 32 Red spruce
- 33 Red spruce - balsam fir
- 34 Red spruce - Fraser fir
- 35 Paper birch - red spruce - balsam fir
- 37 Northern white-cedar
- 38 Tamarack
- 107 White spruce
- 201 White spruce
- 202 White spruce - paper birch
- 204 Black spruce
- 205 Mountain hemlock
- 206 Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
- 218 Lodgepole pine
- 223 Sitka spruce
- 224 Western hemlock
- 225 Western hemlock - Sitka spruce
- 226 Coastal true fir - hemlock
- 251 White spruce - aspen
- 253 Black spruce - white spruce
- 254 Black spruce - paper birch
- 256 California mixed subalpine
SRM Rangeland Cover Types (Shiflet 1994)
- No entry
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4. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p. [434]
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21. Lewis, M. 1981. Human uses of bryophytes. I. Use of mosses for chinking log structures in Alaska. Bryologist. 84(4): 571-572. [18659]
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29. Viereck, Leslie A. 1989. Flood-plain succession and vegetation classification in interior Alaska. In: Ferguson, Dennis E.; Morgan, Penelope; Johnson, Frederic D., compilers. Proceedings--land classifications based on vegetation: applications for resource management; 1987 November 17-19; Moscow, ID. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-257. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station: 197-203. [6959]
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