''Physcomitrium'' is a genus of

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

es, commonly called urn moss, that includes about 80 species and has a

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, a cosmopolitan distribution is the range of a taxon that extends across most or all of the surface of the Earth, in appropriate habitats; most cosmopolitan species are known to be highly adaptable to a range of climatic and en ...

. The scientific name comes from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

words ''physa'', meaning bladder, and ''mitrion'', meaning little turban, which together refer to the urn-like calyptra. The common name is derived from its symmetrical, erect and urn-like capsules that lack

peristome Peristome (from the Greek language, Greek ''peri'', meaning 'around' or 'about', and ''stoma'', 'mouth') is an anatomical feature that surrounds an opening to an organ or structure. Some plants, fungi, and shelled gastropods have peristomes. In mo ...

s, these features characterising the genus. They are commonly found on exposed soils that are often associated with locations that become very wet in the spring, such as along river banks or on alluvial mud. They occur from near sea level to about 2500 metres. The capsules mature over the winter and into the spring. Many species were once circumscribed within the species '' Physcomitrium pyriforme'', which over time has been broken up into many separate species based on variation of the

sporophyte A sporophyte () is one of the two alternation of generations, alternating multicellular organism, multicellular phases in the biological life cycle, life cycles of plants and algae. It is a diploid multicellular organism which produces asexual Spo ...

and

gametophyte A gametophyte () is one of the two alternating multicellular phases in the life cycles of plants and algae. It is a haploid multicellular organism that develops from a haploid spore that has one set of chromosomes. The gametophyte is the se ...

Selected species

*''

Physcomitrium australe ''Physcomitrium'' is a genus of mosses, commonly called urn moss, that includes about 80 species and has a cosmopolitan distribution. The scientific name comes from the Ancient Greek words ''physa'', meaning bladder, and ''mitrion'', meaning litt ...

'' *'' Physcomitrium californicum'' *'' Physcomitrium drummondii'' *'' Physcomitrium kellermanii'' *'' Physcomitrium megalocarpum'' *'' Physcomitrium pyriforme'' *'' Physcomitrium turbinatum''

References

Moss genera Funariales {{Bryopsida-stub