''Polytrichum juniperinum'', commonly known as juniper haircap or juniper polytrichum moss, is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

and

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

species of

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 ...

that is widely distributed, growing on every continent including

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

.Polytrichum juniperinum
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.Plants For A Future. Plant Database

Description

The stems are reddish with grey-green

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

that have a distinctive red-brown tip.Polytrichum juniperinum
, The British Bryological Society. British mosses and liverworts a field guide. This characteristic allows them to be separated from the bristly haircap (''

Polytrichum piliferum ''Polytrichum piliferum'', the bristly haircap, is an evergreen perennial species of moss in the family Polytrichaceae. The bristly haircap moss is small-sized to medium-sized and forms loose tufts with wine-reddish stems. It is an acrocarpous m ...

''), a plant that the juniper haircap moss closely resembles. The difference is that the bristly haircap has a clear (white) leaf tip.Juniper haircap
. Ecomare.nl. Retrieved on 2011-05-22. The leaves of juniper haircap moss are lanceolate and upright spreading when dry, and when moist, wide-spreading. Although their growth form can be varied, they generally grow in thin, interwoven mats, and hardly as closely associated individuals.
Thunder Bay, ON, Lakehead University, Faculty of forestry and the forest environment (Producer). Juniper haircap moss have a well-developed system of tiny tubes for carrying water from the

rhizoid Rhizoids are protuberances that extend from the lower epidermal cells of bryophytes and algae. They are similar in structure and function to the root hairs of vascular land plants. Similar structures are formed by some fungi. Rhizoids may be unic ...

s to leaves that is uncharacteristic of mosses, resembling the system that has evolved in

vascular plant Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They al ...

s such as

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

gymnosperms The gymnosperms ( lit. revealed seeds) are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, ''Ginkgo'', and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae. The term ''gymnosperm'' comes from the composite word in el, γυμνό� ...

and

angiosperms Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

. As a result of this developed system, stems have greater potential for height than in typical mosses.

Distribution

Juniper haircap moss grows across a wide range of habitats but it is most commonly found on dry, acidic, exposed habitats. It is frequent in areas previously disturbed by

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

and

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

. Other areas they occupy are mineral soil, humus and rocks, stumps, banks, trailsides and dry open woods. Although Juniper haircap moss is not usually found in moist or wet environments, it has been found growing on moist woods and other moist sites such as streambanks.

Reproduction

It is a

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

plant, meaning that the male and female

gametophytes A gametophyte () is one of the two alternating multicellular phases in the life cycles of plants and algae. It is a haploid multicellular organism that develops from a haploid spore that has one set of chromosomes. The gametophyte is the sex ...

are on separate plants. Juniper haircap moss have very obvious male and female parts. Male plants are said to be unusual because they continue growing without losing the old male organs. The male plants are very noticeable due to their bright reddish orange modified leaves that form small terminal 'flowers' at the shoot ends. The plant has a gametophyte dominant life cycle similar to other mosses. Water is required for reproduction to take place, to enable the sperm to swim down the neck of the

archegonia An archegonium (pl: archegonia), from the ancient Greek ''ἀρχή'' ("beginning") and ''γόνος'' ("offspring"), is a multicellular structure or organ of the gametophyte phase of certain plants, producing and containing the ovum or female ga ...

to reach the egg. Once fertilization takes place, the sporophyte of the juniper haircap moss lives on the female gametophyte, growing out of the archegonia. The sporophyte consists of a foot, stalk, a spore capsule, an operculum, and a calyptra. There are 64 short blunt teeth at the top surrounding the capsule mouth and the hood of the capsule, the calyptra, has long hairs that extends down the entire length of the capsule, hence the name 'haircap moss'.

Medicinal use

The herb is believed to be a powerful

diuretic A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics in ...

herbalist Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remed ...

s. Because it increases urinary secretions, it is useful in the treatment of urinary obstructions and

dropsy Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...

, an old term for today's edema, which is defined by medicinenet as the swelling of tissue due to accumulation of excess water. The plant is also considered to be excellent for long term use because it does not cause nausea.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q140352 Polytrichaceae Flora of Tasmania