Oxyrrhynchium hians

English name: Swartz’s feather-moss

A pleurocarpous moss with yellow-green, straggling shoots, branches that spread widely from the main stem, and leaves that, in turn, spread away from the main stem, which gives the moss an open feel. Leaves are broadly egg-shaped with a broadly pointed to tapering tip and have toothed margins. Capsules are oblong and curved and have a beaked lid.

Capsules mature in winter and spring.

In Scotland, Oxyrrhynchium hians is widespread in lowland and coastal regions and found in woodland, hedgebanks, grassland, arable fields, parks and gardens where it grows on bare soil. BBS distribution map

Confusion species: Kindbergia praelonga