The leaves radiate outward in a flat, star-shaped rosette. Syntrichia ruralis has short, upright stems. When wet, the leaves are bright green and spread flat. They create a perfect green star on the ground. When dry, the leaves curl up and twist. They turn greyish-brown and shrivelled. They look like a dead, brown rosette. It is the moss of the resurrection. The one that wakes up with the rain. The one that plays dead when the sun returns. What makes it special is the drought tolerance. Star moss can survive months of dry weather. It shrivels up. It appears completely dead. But within minutes of rain, the leaves absorb water. They unfurl. They turn bright green. It is the moss of the Lazarus act. The one that comes back from the dead with every storm. The one that proves that nothing is ever truly gone. The leaves are broad at the base. They taper to a sharp point. Each leaf has a distinctive, white, hair-like tip called an awn. These awns extend beyond the leaf tip. They help reflect sunlight. They trap moisture. They protect the leaf from drying out. The leaf surface is covered in tiny, papillose bumps. They give it a rough, textured appearance. Under a hand lens, the white awns are visible. Tiny glassy threads extending from each leaf tip. Biologically, the star moss reproduces by spores. They are released from capsules on tall stalks. It grows in dry, exposed habitats. On rock outcrops. On limestone banks. On disturbed ground. To find star moss is to find the tiny green stars on the dry rock. They are greyish-brown and shrivelled when dry. Bright green and star-shaped when wet. You can watch them resurrect. You can see the leaves unfurl. You can witness the moss come back to life. It is the moss of the resurrection. The one that wakes up when it rains. The one that plays dead when it does not. The one that proves that life is always waiting for the right moment. No recorded Māori name distinguishes the star moss from other mosses. Mosses were generally called pūkohu or rimu. The star-shaped rosettes on the dry rocks would have been noticed. They looked like the stars in the sky. Like the sunburst of the morning. No distinct name survives. The star moss was sometimes used as a dye. The green pigment could be extracted. It was used to colour fibres. Though it was not as vibrant as other dyes.