''Plagiomnium medium'', commonly known as Alpine thyme-moss or intermediate plagiomnium moss, is a

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

found in montane habitats in the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

. Research published in 1988 showed that is a hybrid of '' P. ellipticum'' and '' P. insigne'' via an

allopolyploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contains ...

process, previously considered to be absent in bryophyte evolution.Wyatt, Robert ''et al.'' (1988
"Allopolyploidy in bryophytes: Multiple origins of Plagiomnium medium"
PNAS 85 pp. 5601-04. Retrieved 5 July 2008. In the UK it is classified as near threatened. More than 10% of all UK populations occur in the

Cairngorms National Park Cairngorms National Park ( gd, Pàirc Nàiseanta a' Mhonaidh Ruaidh) is a national park in northeast Scotland, established in 2003. It was the second of two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament, after Loch Lomond and The Tro ...

in Scotland including sites in the Lairig Ghru and on the plateau of Lochnagar.Rothero, Gordon "Bryophytes", in Shaw, Philip and Thompson, Des (eds.) (2006) ''The Nature of the Cairngorms: Diversity in a changing environment''. Edinburgh. The Stationery Office. . pp. 197-207.

References

External links

Photograph
Mniaceae Flora of Scotland Plants described in 1838 {{Bryophyte-stub