''Fontinalis antipyretica'', greater water-moss, or common water moss, is a species of submerged aquatic

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 ...

belonging to the subclass

Bryidae Bryidae is an important subclass of Bryopsida. It is common throughout the whole world. Members have a double peristome with alternating tooth segments. Classification The classification of the Bryidae.Buck, William R. & Bernard Goffinet. 2000. ...

. It is found in both still and flowing freshwater in Europe, Asia, Greenland and Africa. In North America it is found in most Canadian provinces with a seaboard and most US states except the most southern.

Description

''F. antipyretica'' has branched, trailing stems that are triangular in cross-section and may be as long as . The leaves are quite stiff and are arranged in three overlapping rows. Each leaf is lance-shaped or egg-shaped, with a keel and a sharp point, some long. There are no flowers but minute spores are sometimes produced in smooth

sporangia A sporangium (from Late Latin, ; : sporangia) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a unicellular organism, single cell or can be multicellular organism, multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungus, fungi, and many ot ...

(capsules) between long.

Distribution and habitat

''F. antipyretica'' is found in Europe, Asia and parts of Africa. It grows attached to submerged rocks in fast-flowing water. It also occurs attached to the

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (aquatic environment), the earthy material that exi ...

in lakes and as floating masses in still water, and may be cast up on beaches at the waterside. It thrives in shady positions and prefers acid water, a pH of around 8.4 being the maximum tolerated. It is replaced in highly acid mountain and moorland streams in the UK by ''Fontinalis squamosa''.

Biology

Reproduction is mostly by stolons or by the rooting of detached fragments. Sexual reproduction does also occur, in the spring in North America, but is relatively unimportant as a means of reproduction. Individual plants are either male or female and the capsules housing the spores are seldom observed. The species is the first aquatic

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 ...

plant to have its genome documented, as well as the first of the

Fontinalis ''Fontinalis'' is a genus of submerged aquatic mosses belonging to the subclass Bryidae. These mosses are also called willow moss, fountain moss, brook moss and water moss. The genus is widespread in the Northern Hemisphere and includes both spec ...

genus to be documented. It has 16,538 total genes with a genome that's 385.2 Mbp in size. It is monophyletic.

Ecology

''F. antipyretica'' grows in large clumps and mats and provides refuge for fish eggs and fry. Numerous invertebrates shelter among the fronds;

Chironomid Chironomidae , commonly known as non-biting midges or chironomids , are a family of Nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the families Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae. Although many chironomid s ...

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e hide in the bases of the leaves and

mayfly Mayflies (also known as shadflies or fishflies in Canada and the upper Midwestern United States, as Canadian soldiers in the American Great Lakes region, and as up-winged flies in the United Kingdom) are aquatic insects belonging to the orde ...

caddisfly The caddisflies (order Trichoptera) are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which can be divided into the suborders Integripalpia and Annulipalpia on the basis ...

and

stonefly Plecoptera is an order of insects commonly known as stoneflies. Some 3,500 species are described worldwide, with new species still being discovered. Stoneflies are found worldwide, except Antarctica. Stoneflies are believed to be one of the most ...

larvae cling to the fronds, and in fast-flowing water

black fly A black fly or blackfly (sometimes called a buffalo gnat, turkey gnat, or white socks) is any member of the family Simuliidae of the Culicomorpha infraorder. It is related to the Ceratopogonidae, Chironomidae, and Thaumaleidae. Over 2,200 s ...

larvae are often present.

Diatom A diatom (Neo-Latin ''diatoma'') is any member of a large group comprising several Genus, genera of algae, specifically microalgae, found in the oceans, waterways and soils of the world. Living diatoms make up a significant portion of Earth's B ...

s and other microscopic algae grow epiphytically on the fronds.

Heavy metal adsorption

It has been found that ''F. antipyretica'' can adsorb

cadmium Cadmium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12 element, group 12, zinc and mercury (element), mercury. Like z ...

and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

, with maximum

biosorption Biosorption is a physiochemical process that occurs naturally in certain biomass which allows it to passively concentrate and bind contaminants onto its cellular structure. Biosorption can be defined as the ability of biological materials to accumu ...

of cadmium being per gram of dried moss, and of zinc (depending on water temperature). The biosorption of cadmium was unaffected by the hardness of the water but that of zinc was affected by rising

calcium Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...

levels.

Aquarium uses

''F. antipyretica'' was traditionally used in cool-water aquaria, but in tropical aquaria the similarly structured "

Java moss Java moss is a common name for multiple plants and may refer to: *'' Taxiphyllum barbieri'' *'' Vesicularia dubyana'' Hypnaceae {{Short pages monitor