bristles on the rough barked forest trees
- Size
- Height: 1–3 cm
- Lifespan
- 5–10 years
- Diet
- Obtains nutrients via photosynthesis. Requires consistent moisture and stable bark surfaces. Grows on trees, rocks, and wood in damp forests.
- Habitat
- Old-growth forest understoreys with rough-barked trees, deep shade, and consistently high humidity from canopy cover.
- Range
- Found throughout the North and South Islands on bark of native and introduced trees, rocks, and wood in damp, shaded forests. Most common in lowland and montane forests with consistent moisture.
- Endemism
- Native
- Main Threats
- None significant. Localised threats include forest clearance, removal of old trees with rough bark, and climate change reducing forest floor humidity.
- Population
- Not Threatened. Common on bark of native and introduced trees, rocks, and wood throughout New Zealand.
- Conservation Status
- Not Threatened
- Human Risk
- harmless
- Handling Note
- common moss, safe to handle
- Conservation Note
- Native moss; not assessed by NZTCS as bryophytes are generally outside the scope of current threat classifications.
- Te Ao Māori
- No recorded Māori name distinguishes the orthotrichum bristle moss from other mosses. Mosses were generally called "pūkohu" (mosses and lichens) or "rimu" (a general term for small, low-growing plants). The small, bristly cushions on tree bark would have been noticed. They looked like the hair of a creature. Like the bristles of a brush. But no distinct name survives. This moss was not used as a medicine or a dye. It was too small. Too bristly. Too easy to overlook. It was simply part of the forest.
Without it, the bark is just wood. With it, there is bristle.
Orthotrichum bristle moss looks like it is holding on for dear life. A plant that bristles with intent. It forms small, dense, dark green cushions. They cling to tree bark in tight clusters. The stems are short and upright. The leaves are narrow and pointed. They often have a translucent, hair-like tip extending beyond the leaf. A moss that reaches out.
The leaves arrange in a dense spiral. This gives the cushions a bristly, spiky appearance. From these cushions rise the sporophytes. Long, bristle-like stalks (setae) that are pale yellow to reddish-brown. They are topped with capsules covered in tiny white hairs. Every part of this plant seems designed to say: do not touch. A moss with a warning.
This is one of the bristliest mosses in New Zealand. The hair-like leaf tips give the cushions a spiky appearance. The sporophytes add long, bristle-like stalks and hairy capsules. They contribute to the overall bristly effect. It is the moss of the sharp edge. The one that looks like it is not to be trifled with. The leaves have a distinct midrib and recurved margins (curled under). The leaf surface is covered in tiny papillose bumps. Reproduction happens by spores released from the hairy capsules. The white hairs help with dispersal.
To find orthotrichum bristle moss is to spot small, dark green, bristly cushions on tree bark. They cling tightly. Bristling with hair-like leaf tips and hairy sporophytes. The bark is rough. The moss clings. Dark green and bristly. Hair-like tips reaching out. A finger approaches. The moss does not move. It does not need to. Its bristles are its shield. And the shield works. Populations are not threatened. Common on bark of native and introduced trees. Rocks and wood throughout New Zealand. Localised threats include forest clearance. Removal of old trees with rough bark. Climate change reducing forest floor humidity.