''Ptilium crista-castrensis'', the knights plume moss or ostrich-plume feathermoss, is a

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 ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

within the family Pylaisiaceae, in the class

Bryopsida The Bryopsida constitute the largest class of mosses, containing 95% of all moss species. It consists of approximately 11,500 species, common throughout the whole world. The group is distinguished by having spore capsules with teeth that are '' ...

, 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. ...

and order

Hypnales Hypnales is the botanical name of an order of Bryophyta or leafy mosses. This group is sometimes called feather mosses, referring to their freely branched stems. The order includes more than 40 families and more than 4,000 species, making them ...

Ecology

This species occurs on the floor of

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

boreal forest Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by pinophyta, coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. I ...

s as well as many forests of northern Europe; an example of this occurrence is within the

black spruce ''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories. It is the official tree of Newfoundland and Labrador and is tha ...

feathermoss Hypnales is the botanical name of an order of Bryophyta or leafy mosses. This group is sometimes called feather mosses, referring to their freely branched stems. The order includes more than 40 families and more than 4,000 species, making them ...

climax forest In scientific ecology, climax community or climatic climax community is a historic term for a community of plants, animals, and fungi which, through the process of ecological succession in the development of vegetation in an area over time, hav ...

, often having moderately dense canopy and featuring a forest floor of feathermosses including ''

Hylocomium splendens ''Hylocomium splendens'', commonly known as glittering woodmoss, splendid feather moss, stairstep moss, and mountain fern moss, is a perennial clonal moss with a widespread distribution in Northern Hemisphere boreal forests. It is commonly found ...

'', ''

Pleurozium schreberi ''Pleurozium schreberi'', the red-stemmed feathermoss or Schreber's big red stem moss, is a moss with a loose growth pattern. The prefix 'pleuro-' is derived from the Latin word for ribs, possibly referring to the way the branches extend from the ...

'' and ''Ptilium crista-castrensis''.C. Michael Hogan. 2008

References

* C. Michael Hogan. 2008
''Black Spruce: Picea mariana'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg
* ITIS Report. 1999
''Family: Hypnaceae''

Line notes

Hypnaceae {{hypnales-stub