Any moss ID is dubious at best... Not saying mini or very small moss varieties don't exist, but giving them an ID is a different story.
Usually, it's given a fantasy name that sounds good for the trade and nobody knows what it really is.
Names such as Christmas, peacock, stringy, weeping, flame etc. are common fantasy names used in the trade. Many stores often get mosses by the bulk unlabelled. Then they look at what comes closest and name it... Often when it's bought labelled it is still the best guess if it really is what it says.
Professional Bryologists are a very rare species, most are hobbyist amateurs. And all need extensive databases and knowledge and a microscope and then giving it a proper ID still can be a challenge. That's why there are often an 'sp.' and sometimes a 'cf' abbreviation given in the name. 'Sp.' stands for Species and means it's classified in a certain genus e.g. 'Taxiphyllum sp. Taiwan is classified as certainly Taxiphyllum species and it's from Taiwan and yet that's all we know. So next time another batch comes from Taiwan with the same name but could be slightly different.
'CF' stands for the Latin term 'cōnferatur' which means 'comparative to - compared with' meaning 'It's unclear what it is but by the looks of it we believe it might be this (name) because this comes closest to what we can come up with"
🙂
Actually to be totally honest the 'cf' abbreviation could be placed at 90% or more of all moss IDs in the trade. That would be closer to the truth.
