''Splachnum sphaericum'', also known as pinkstink dung moss, is a species 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 ...

. This species occurs in North America. It also occurs in upland Britain, where it is known as round-fruited collar-moss and in north temperate and boreal regions of Europe. Its habitat is bog and wet heathland where it grows on herbivore dung. This and other ''Splachnum'' species are entomophilous. 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 ...

s, which are generally coloured red or black, produce an odour of carrion that is attractive to flies and the spores are dispersed by flies to fresh dung.J. R. Vaizey (1890) On the Morphology of the Sporophyte of ''Splachnum luteum''. Annals of Botany 1, 1-8.

References

Splachnaceae Bryophyta of North America Plants described in 1801 {{bryidae-stub