''Ptilium crista-castrensis'', the knights plume moss or ostrich-plume feathermoss, 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 ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

within the family Pylaisiaceae, in the class

Bryopsida The Bryopsida constitute the largest class of mosses, containing 95% of all moss species. It consists of approximately 11,500 species, common throughout the whole world. The group is distinguished by having spore capsules with teeth that are '' ...

, subclass

Bryidae Bryidae is an important subclass of Bryopsida. It is common throughout the whole world. Members have a double peristome with alternating tooth segments. Classification The classification of the Bryidae.Buck, William R. & Bernard Goffinet. 2000. ...

and order

Hypnales Hypnales is the botanical name of an order of Bryophyta or leafy mosses. This group is sometimes called feather mosses, referring to their freely branched stems. The order includes more than 40 families and more than 4,000 species, making them ...

Ecology

This species occurs on the floor of

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

boreal forest Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, ...

s as well as many forests of northern Europe; an example of this occurrence is within the

black spruce ''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories. It is the official tree of the province of Newfoundland and Labra ...

feathermoss Hypnales is the botanical name of an order of Bryophyta or leafy mosses. This group is sometimes called feather mosses, referring to their freely branched stems. The order includes more than 40 families and more than 4,000 species, making them ...

climax forest In scientific ecology, climax community or climatic climax community is a historic term for a community of plants, animals, and fungi which, through the process of ecological succession in the development of vegetation in an area over time, hav ...

, often having moderately dense canopy and featuring a forest floor of feathermosses including ''

Hylocomium splendens ''Hylocomium splendens'', commonly known as glittering woodmoss, splendid feather moss, stairstep moss, and mountain fern moss, is a Perennial plant, perennial Clone (plant), clonal moss with a widespread distribution in Northern Hemisphere borea ...

'', ''

Pleurozium schreberi ''Pleurozium schreberi'', the red-stemmed feathermoss or Schreber's big red stem moss, is a moss with a loose growth pattern. The root name ''pleuro'' comes from the Latin for ribs, possibly describing how the parts branch from the stem. The spe ...

'' and ''Ptilium crista-castrensis''.C. Michael Hogan. 2008

References

* C. Michael Hogan. 2008
''Black Spruce: Picea mariana'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg
* ITIS Report. 1999
''Family: Hypnaceae''

Line notes

Hypnaceae {{Bryophyte-stub