Common Name: Little pincushion moss
Family: Leucobryaceae
Collection Date: 10/20/2016
Habitat: Growing in small mound/clump near base of tree on the edge of the woods that surrounded a swamp
Location: 3-D Ranch Bristolville, OH
Description: Very short, whitish-green clump of moss
Figure 1: Leucobryum albidium
Figure 2: Measurement of stem and leaves in cm
Keying Guide used: McKnight, K. B. & Rohrer, J. R. & Ward, K. M. & Perdrizet, W. J.(2013). Common Mosses of the Northeast and Appalachians. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Retrieved October 12, 2016, from Project MUSE database.
Keying Steps: From: Common Mosses of the Northeast and Appalachians p 17 Acrocarp - Lance-leafed with no midrib, Key II p 342-350
1.) Plants gray or whitish green (dry) to light green (wet); shoots very densely packed together forming domed mounds. Leaves tubular in upper half and seemingly with out mid rib ... 2 2.) Stems less than 1 cm. tall; leaves 2-4mm long; often with capsules ... Leucobryum albidum
Keying Guide Source: McKnight, K. B. & Rohrer, J. R. & Ward, K. M. & Perdrizet, W. J.(2013). Common Mosses of the Northeast and Appalachians. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Retrieved October 20, 2016, from Project MUSE database.
Even though this might seem pretty easy to identify, you still need to lend supporting evidence to the keying steps...for mosses this inevitably requires a picture of a single/small cluster of leaves under magnification to confirm leaf shape/midrib
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