Identification notes
This very common large moss grows on various well-drained acid substrates, such as woodland soil, heathland, decaying tree trunks and stumps and even occasionally as an epiphyte on living trees and shrubs in very humid situations. A carpet-former, it rarely grows in hummocks, unlike P. commune, which typically prefers wetter ground, often in the company of Sphagnum mosses. Typical associates of P. formosum include Kindbergia praelonga, Pseudoscleropodium purum, Mnium hornum and/or Rhytidiadelphus loreus.
Carefully strip off an entire stem leaf and you’ll see that its pale sheathing base is not glossy, a point of distinction from P. commune. However, this character sounds more straightforward than it often is, and examination of the shape of the uppermost cells of the lamellae overlying the nerve in transverse section is more reliable. Fortunately, cutting leaf sections of Polytrichum species is not difficult with a sharp razorblade as they are relatively rigid.
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