Atrichum undulatum
English: Crane’s bill moss; Catherine’s moss; Wavy Catharinea; Catharinea undulata; Common Smoothcap moss.
German: Grosses katerinenmoos.
Synonym: Polytrichum undulatum; Catharinea callibryon P
Name: Atrichum means having no, "a", hairs 'trichum.
German: Grosses katerinenmoos.
Polish: Żurawiec falisty, meaning 'wavy crane-like moss’.
Japanese: Tachi-goke zoku. ‘standing moss’; Namigata tachi-goke, nami meaning ‘wave’ or 'normal and ‘namiki’ meaning trees.
Genus: 20 to 50 species.
Region: Europe, North America, China, Japan, Kazachstan, Philippines, Russia, Taiwan.
Habitat: lowland, shaded, well-drained woodlands; dry weedy places; heaths, unimproved and semi-improved grasslands, on banks, anthills, rocky ledges, roadside ditches; avoiding very acidic and highly calcareous soils.
Botany
Identification: distinctive.
Moss: very robust; loosely tufted; forming extensive patches; dark green, but are yellower when well-lit.
Stems: erect, unbranched; to 7 cm tall.
Leaves: long, narrow, pointed; up to 1 cm long; distinctly transversely undulate when moist, and strongly crisped when dry; leaf margins have paired teeth from near the base, the back is rough, with numerous small teeth; nerve ends in the leaf tip.
Capsules: frequent; inclined; cylindrical; 3 to 4 mm long; with a lid and beak of similar length to the capsule; seta is reddish, 2 to 4 cm long; 32 peristome teeth; mouth is closed by a delicate drumskin-like membrane.
Growth from: acrocarpous.
Botany
A small to fairly large, big moss, forming extensive patches, dark green, sometimes light green or yellowish when well-lit, exceptionally beautiful star-shaped.
Stems: upright, erect, ± 6 cm tall, unbranched; creeping root-like structure.
Leaves ± 1 cm long, narrow, undulate (wavy), with toothed margins, strongly crisped when dry, translucent, with seven plates of tissue running longitudinally up the leaf, sparse below, more crowded above.
Stalk, seta: reddish-brown, reddish-brown seta, with a
Capsules: brown, dark brown when mature, cylindrical, curved; mature April to July,
Operculum, = lid, flap on the moss capsule: with a long beak on the lid, looking like a crane; kalyptra,veil that protects the capsule, is bald, without hairs.
Literature
Moss blog of Seattle: https://sjgmoss.wordpress.com.
DiscoverLife.org.
Martin, Annie; The Magical World of Moss Gardening.
Schenk, George; Moss Gardening, Including Lichens, Liverworts and Other Miniatures; 1997.