# South American Mosses



## Benauld (2 Jun 2017)

Hi guys & gals,

I'm looking at going for a general South American (SA) theme and wanted some moss. Having checked out some other forums, and seeing everyone lamenting the paucity of SA species available, I thought I'd share my research thus far.

*CAVEAT: *I do not know how many of the bryophyte [Moss] species listed below are truly aquatic mosses (unless you recognise the name or the notes say otherwise), although anyone going for an authentic biotope using emersed moss growth might also appreciate this. In addition some species may also be on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

A google scholar search came up with the following list of species from various papers such as Tropical Bryologist, etc.


_Fissidens hydropogon_ {"River habitats" - Critically endangered} (Ecuador)
_Gradsteinia andicola_ (Colombian Mountain Stream)
_Holomitriopsis laevifolia_ (Venezuela)
_Hydropogon fontinaloides_ (Colombia, Bolivia)
_Hydropogonella gymnostoma_ {Originally imported as _Amblystegiaceae sp_. Manaus, Synonym: _Fontinalis gymnostoma_} [Queen Moss] (Northern Brazil and Panama) ***Rarely commercially available species*** https://www.aquasabi.com/aquatic-plants/rare-plants/hydropogonella-gymnostoma
_Koponenia holoneuron_ (Bolivia)
_Leptobryum wilsonii_ {Has both terrestrial and aquatic growth forms} (Tierra del Fuego)
_Pseudocrossidium exiguum_ & _P.linearifolium_ (Argentina, Brazil, Peru)
_Rhacocarpus purpurascens_ (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia)
_Sanionia uncinata_ (Widespread cosmopolitan species, Eurasia and the Americas - South American species genetically different, although same species)
_Sciaromium lacustre_ {Deep water species} (Lake Titicaca)
_Scouleria patagonica_ {"Habitats exposed to running water" - Threatened species} (Patagonia, Argentina, Chile)
_Sphagnum magellanicum_ [Magellanic bogmoss] (Very widespread - North & South America, Eurasia)
_Vesicularia montagnei_ {Synonym: _V.dubyana_} ‘Christmas’ [Christmas Moss] (Brazil) ***Commonly commercially available species***

The next list is from the following source - https://portals.iucn.org/library/efiles/documents/2000-074.pdf

Indicators of undisturbed lowland rainforest (below 500m a.s.l.):


_Calymperes bartramii_ (Widespread - Brazil, Colombia)
_Fabronia spp._ (No geographic range data)
_Gertrudiella uncinicoma_ var. _serratopungens_ {Previously _Barbula uncinicoma_} (Bolivia)
_Lepidopilum polytrichoides_, _L. surinamense_, and many, many other species (Relatively uncommon. Cross-checked with a further source, "A checklist of the Mosses of the Tropical Andean Countries")
_Leucomium strumosum_ (Widespread - Brazil)
_Macromitrium brasiliense_, and many other species. (Widespread - Brazil)
_Mniomalia viridis_ (Uncommon - Brazil, Ecuador)
_Neckeropsis spp._ (Widespread)
_Pelekium sharpii_ {Previously _Cyrto-hypnum sharpii_} (Widespread - Boliva, Argentina)
_Phyllophyllum tenuifolium_ (Confined to ‘tank’ bromeliads)
_Syrrhopodon spp_. (Widespread - Brazil)
_Taxithelium planum_, _T.pluripunctatum_, & _T.juruense_. (Brazil)

Indicators of undisturbed submontane (= premontane) rainforest: (500–1,500m a.s.l.):


_Amblytropis spp_. (Central America and Northern S. America)
_Brymela spp_. (Not common, except _B. parkeriana_ in the Guianas and Northern Amazon)
_Groutiella tomentosa_, & _G.tumidula_ (Brazil)
_Isodrepanium lentulum_ (Locally widespread - Brazil)
_Mesonodon spp_. (Northern S. America and Southeast Brazil)
_Pterobryopsis spp_. (Widespread - Brazil)
_Schliephackea prostata_ (Chocó)
_Stenodictyon spp_. (Central America and Northern Andes)
_Thamniopsis cruegeriana_ (Widespread - Bolivia)

Of course there are many, many more species there, the Amazon is after all one of the most diverse places on earth. Singling out aquatic species, and then getting hold of them however is probably an artform in itself. Unless you be-freind a Bryologist with an extensive social network!

Thanks,

Ben.


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## Benauld (13 Jun 2017)

*Addendum*

Another one I've come across:

_Cratoneuron filicinum_ {Synonym: _Hygroamblystegium meridense_} [Fern-leaved Hook Moss] (Colombia, Venezuela) Has an aquatic growth form.


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## dw1305 (14 Jun 2017)

Hi all,





Benauld said:


> _Cratoneuron filicinum_ {Synonym: _Hygroamblystegium meridense_} [Fern-leaved Hook Moss] (Colombia, Venezuela) Has an aquatic growth form.


It is a <"UK native">, you find it on tufa etc. It grows well submerged, but with a much finer "stringy" shoot.  It does well with very low light levels.

cheers Darrel


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## Benauld (14 Jun 2017)

Thanks Darrel,

A lot of the mosses that I'm reading about seem to have very wide distributions, I'm guessing because their spores are so small and light, that the wind can carry them pretty much anywhere on the globe!

Although terrestrial, and not aquatic, my favourite tropical moss species so far has to be the genus _Hypnodendron_, the Palm, or Umbrella moss. So cool!


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## Benauld (14 Jun 2017)

*An update to Sciaromium lacustre in original post*

_Richardsiopsis lacustris_ (Herz. & Richards) Ochyra.
Rio de Janeiro: Serra de Itatiaia, Brejo da Lapa, submerged in small spring at the margin of the fen, 2140 m altitude.

Distribution: _Richardsiopsis lacustris_ was originally described as _Sciaromium lacustre_ (RICHARDS, 1984) from Lake Titicaca, 3815 m, Peru (type), and Lagunilla Saracocha, 4150 m altitude, a small lake to the west of Lake Titicaca. OCHYRA (1986) described the new genus _Richardsiopsis _to accommodate this distinctive aquatic moss and placed it in the family Donrichardsiaceae. *In Brazil the species grows under somewhat different ecological conditions than discussed in RICHARDS (1984). In the two localities in Peru the moss reaches it greatest abundance at a depth of 11-29 m, and no other bryophyte is growing with it. In the Brazilian locality, it is growing in running water of a small spring, near the surface, and associated with other hygrophilous mosses. Moreover, the Brazilian specimen is from considerably lower altitude.*

I will be doing a bit more research, on and off in future, and will add any other info I glean here, as and when appropriate.


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## zozo (14 Jun 2017)

Benauld said:


> _Fissidens hydropogon_ {"River habitats" - Critically endangered} (Ecuador)



This very well could be the Fissidens Morishaki as is sold in the trade 
https://www.aquasabi.com/aquatic-plants/rare-plants/fissidens-sp-miroshaki
As far as i know this moss was firstly introduced at http://www.miroshaki.nl/. They also have a or had a shop, dunno if they still are open or ever opened, they had some permit trouble during the shops build. It is not far away from my place, but never been there. But i recall them stating at their forum this moss was imported from south america and never realy identified. Hence the name sp. Miroshaki i guess..


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## zozo (14 Jun 2017)

Benauld said:


> Although terrestrial, and not aquatic,



I kinda have my doubts if this is realy the case.. Just give it a go, if you are patient enough you might find out as i did, yet not encountered a terrestrial moss that doesn't grow aquatic.. But in aquatic form it just is completely different.  Wouldn't surprice me if all mosses can have both forms. It took me a year, but finaly got Haircap moss transition to submersed. And it becomes stringy..


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## Tim Harrison (14 Jun 2017)

Benauld said:


> Although terrestrial, and not aquatic, my favourite tropical moss species so far has to be the genus _Hypnodendron_, the Palm, or Umbrella moss. So cool!


That's outrageous...it looks so alien it could be from another planet...or the land that time forgot. It's now my new favorite as well


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## Benauld (14 Jun 2017)

zozo said:


> Just give it a go, if you are patient enough you might find out as i did, yet not encountered a terrestrial moss that doesn't grow aquatic.. But in aquatic form it just is completely different.



Good point, it's always worth experimenting and seeing whether species will adapt to a specific (in this case aquatic) lifestyle.



zozo said:


> This very well could be the Fissidens Morishaki as is sold in the trade



Possibly, although _F.hydropogon_ has such a small natural range that it would be a huge coincidence!



Tim Harrison said:


> It's now my new favorite as well



Ah, a man of good taste!


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## zozo (14 Jun 2017)

Benauld said:


> Possibly, although _F.hydropogon_ has such a small natural range that it would be a huge coincidence!



Who knows? But it's a south american moss you can add to your list..


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## Benauld (14 Jun 2017)

It is indeed, thank you zozo!


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## Benauld (14 Jun 2017)

_Didymodon tophaceus_ {Hygrophilous} (Ecuador)


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## dw1305 (14 Jun 2017)

Hi alll,





Benauld said:


> _Didymodon tophaceus_


Another one you get on tufa in <"the UK">.

cheers Darrel


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## Benauld (15 Jun 2017)

Thanks Darrel,

It's always good to know that some of these species are out there in the British Isles too! 

Not that I'm advocating collection from the wild, as I'm not certain whether there are any restrictions in law with regard to this. Still, collecting spores and germinating them at home should be legal, (although I'd need to check this too)...


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## Tim Harrison (15 Jun 2017)

dw1305 said:


> Another one you get on tufa in <"the UK">.


Ah...I recognise that as a page from...



I purchased a copy not so long ago, been meaning to get one for ages, it is possibly the best value for money book I've ever bought.


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## dw1305 (15 Jun 2017)

Hi all, 





Tim Harrison said:


> it is possibly the best value for money book I've ever bought.


<"Same for me">, as well as the species descriptions, it has a really useful "habitats list". With this book and a microscope you can get an ID for the vast majority of UK bryophytes.

The only criticism I have of mine (I got it Xmas 2012, and I have taken on fieldwork etc) is that the binding has come unglued.

cheers Darrel


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## Tim Harrison (15 Jun 2017)

dw1305 said:


> the binding has come unglued.


Not a good attribute for a field guide...Thanks for the heads-up, I'll be doubly careful with mine.


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## zozo (15 Jun 2017)

https://www.facebook.com/britishmoss/
 Already following them around for a while..


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## Benauld (20 Jun 2017)

Tim Harrison said:


> Ah...I recognise that as a page from...



That looks like a very interesting book, I'll have to see if I can get hold of a copy. Maybe if I'm good... my birthday is only four months away! 

The following mosses are also from South America, and a good number of them are aquatic too. However, this will be my last update regarding this, because although the question of whether there are any South American mosses has been addressed in principle (and the answer is yes, there are loads!) it's becoming a pretty academic exercise, as nearly all of them are unavailable to aquascapers. 


_Cheilolejeunea sp_. (Brazil)
_Eriodon conostomus_ (Chile)
_Eurhynchiella acanthophylla_ (Chile)
_Eurhynchiella semitorta _(Colombia)
_Eurhynchiella tenuinervis_ (Peru)
_Eurhynchiella toncolensis _(Bolivia)
_Flabellidium spinosum_ (Bolivia) {*Now extinct*. This species was collected in 1911 and described in 1916. The forest at the type locality and in the vicinity has been logged and cultivated over the years. It is therefore considered that there is no reasonable doubt that the only locality for this species has been destroyed and that the last individual has died}.
_Helicodontium clarazii_ (Brazil)
_Helicodontium tarapotense_ (Ecuador)
_Hypnella symphyodontoides_ (Brazil - Found in wet places on fallen logs and rocks)
_Octoblepharum  albidum_ (Brazil)
_Oxyrrhynchium remotifolium_ (French Guiana)
_Pohlia wahlenbergii_ (Argentina - Aquatic)
_Pseudosymblepharis schlimii_ {Synonym: Trichostomum schlimii} (Previously known only from the type locality in Santa Marta, Colombia, is newly reported from the moss floras of Bolivia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guiana, Peru, and Venezuela).
_Racomitrium lamprocarpum_ (Argentina - Aquatic)
_Scorpidium revolvens_ (Argentina - Aquatic)
_Scouleria patagonica_ (Argentina - Aquatic)
_Sphagnum fimbriatum_ (Argentina - Aquatic)
_Vittia pachyloma_ (Argentina - Aquatic)
_Warnstorfia exannulata_ (Argentina - Aquatic)
_Warnstorfia sarmentosa_ (Argentina - Aquatic)
(Sorry if I have repeated any species above, that I have given in previous lists!)

It is a shame to see that one of the species I was researching, _Flabellidium _is already extinct! Although this may go some way to explaining *why * South American mosses aren't widely available in the trade.

But then I can't help thinking that perhaps conservationists are missing a trick here, given that it would be preferable to have a hypothetical 'refugia' of endangered species thriving in aquaria throughout the world, then, in the event that a species becomes extinct in the wild, at least it could subsequently be reintroduced after any environmental protection measures are put in place...

Anyhoo, thanks for reading!

Ben.


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