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RUTABULUM GROUP

Brachythecium rutabulum (L) Br. & Sch. is glossy-yellow-green and grows in wide mats on the ground. It grows up to fairly high elevations, having been collected on the old Van Trump Trail at 5200 feet.

REFLEXUM GROUP

Brachythecium Starkei Brid. (See Plate XV, Fig. 1) occurs as a lower zone Brachytecium. The plants are a beautiful dark-green with the leaves almost two-ranked in appearance. The wide open mats of this moss are particularly common along the Telephone Line Trail between Longmire and the Nisqually entrance. B. Bestii nomen nov. is a form closely allied with B. glaciale but more slender. It is a much higher growing form than the foregoing species, having been collected above Yakima Park, in Van Trump Park and on soil and rocks at 5000 feet along the trail to Klapatche Park.

VELUTINUM GROUP

Brachythecium velutinum (L.) Br. & Sch. was very frequently collected in Mt. Rainier National Park, including the Van Trump Trail, Longmire-Paradise Trail, and Eagle Peak Trail, at which point this moss was collected at 5500 feet elevation. It is a rather slender moss, usually yellowish green in color. The favorite habitats are on soil and stones, sometimes at tree bases. B. Thedinii, Br. & Sch. is a small, slender form, yellow-green in color and silky in texture. In habitat it was found on tree trunks and the ground. The only collection was made near Ohanapecosh Hot Springs at about 2000 feet elevation. B. Leibergii Grout is a medium-sized form, growing in wide green mats in which the stems of the different individuals are very much tangled. It is found on rather rocky soil above Reflection Lake among brush, and also on the a saddle of Eagle Peak at about 5900 feet elevation. B. collinum Schleich is the smallest of the Brachythecia found. Type locality was in Van Trump Park at about 5500 feet where the moss grows in thin mats on the ground beneath heather. In color it is bright green above and dirty green below, with a pronounced gloss throughout.

KEY TO SPECIES OF BRACHYTHECIUM

Subfamily (Hylocomieae)

Mosses of this subfamily are large and robust forms growing in the cool, moist and deeply shaded forest floor of the park. They cover the ground and fallen tree trunks in wide, loose mats and are among our most conspicuous mosses of the region. The branching is usually regularly pinnate, giving the plants a fern like appearance. Three genera are represented, the key to which is below:

KEY TO THE GENERA

The genus Rhytidiadelphus is unusually well represented in Mt. Rainier National Park, three species having been collected, none above 3000 feet elevation.

KEY TO THE SPECIES

Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus (L. Hedw.) Warnst, is a very large moss, bright yellowish-green in color and growing in hick, loosely tangled masses. It was collected near Ohanapecosh on tree trunks. R. Squarrosus (L. Hedw.) Warnst. is identified by its recurved spreading (squarrose) leaves. The plants are usually yellow-green and quite soft. Specimens were collected on the Carbon Glacier Trail at about 3000 feet elevation. R. loreus (L. Hedw.) Warnst. is by far the most abundant species of the genus, growing in the characteristic loosely tangled mats over rotten logs and the ground from the Nisqually entrance up to about 2700 feet elevation. Like most mosses encountered at this elevation, it seems to occur on all sides of the park. Rhytidiopsis robusta (Hook.) Broth. (See Plate XV, Fig. 3) is the only species of the genus. The moss is very conspicuous and easily identified by the beginner. It forms wide, loose masses of a rich, yellow-green on the forest floor. One of our most frequently encountered mosses and one of wide elevation range. Specimens collected at 5500 feet above Reflection Lake at 5300 feet along the trail to Klapatche Park and at 4000 feet on the Eagle Peak Trail were much smaller than those collected at 3500 feet on the trail to Indian Henry's Hunting Ground and still lower on the Trail of the Shadows near Longmire. Hylocomium splendens (Hedw.) Bry. Eur., the Mountain Fern Moss, was formerly known as H. proliferum because of the manner in which new growths are produced by fern-like shoots arising from the growth of the previous season. The favorite habitat is on the ground and stones, and it is at its best in such localities as the River Trail or lower Eagle Peak Trail. Specimens at slightly higher elevations are much smaller and show less of the proliferous growth of those found lower down.

Subfamily (Entodonteae)

A small group characterized by costa short and double, or lacking, and by erect symmetrical capsules. It is represented here by a single genus and species - Holmgrenia intricata.

Holmgrenia intricata (Hartm.) Lindb. (See Plate XVI, Fig. 3) is a handsome little moss of a yellow-green color and soft, silky texture that grows on the ground and bases of tree trunks mixed with other mosses. It was collected along the Longmire-Paradise Trail at 3500 feet elevation.

Subfamily (Hypneae)

Mosses growing in many situations; distinguished by short costa which may be completely lacking, and by cernuous unsymmetrical capsules. Type genus Hypnum is represented by two species in the park.

The genus Hypnum consists of mosses of large to medium size and more or less regularly pinnately branched, growing in tangled mats. The two species found in the park thus far both prefer tree trunks as their habitat. Paraphyllia are present and the leaves are falcate-secund. Hypnum circinale Hook. (See Plate XVI, Fig. 1) is probably one of the most frequently encountered mosses in the park. This moss grows on tree trunks in closely interwoven mats of grayish-green color. It appears to grow best at 2000 or 3000 feet elevation on all sides of the mountain. H. Subimponems Lesq. likewise is found on tree trunks. It is larger in size than the foregoing species, and is of a yellowish-green color. The leaves are falcate-secund, and the whole plant is rather soft to the touch. It was collected along the River Trail near Longmire and also near Ohanapecosh Hot Springs.

Subfamily (Plagiothecieae)

The mosses of this subfamily are distinguished by the complanate and often distichous arrangement of the leaves. They are usually found on the ground more or less entangled with soil; some grow at the roots of trees and on decaying wood. Their range of elevation seems to be as great as that of any group of mosses in the park as they occur abundantly in the lower heavily forested regions of the park. Plagiothecium elogans is reported as having been collected from about the steam vents near the summit of Mount Rainier (Moss Flora of North America, Vol. III, Part 3, Page 163). The specimen was described as a slender form approaching var. gracilens in size and leaf form. Collections of this moss have not been made by the author. The group includes five species and two varieties which are keyed below.

KEY TO THE SPECIES

Plagiothecium Seligeri (Brid.) Lindb., collected on rotten wood near is a medium sized, slender moss growing in pale-green tufts. P. undulatum (L. Hedw.) Bry. Eur., is identified by its transversely waved (undulate) leaves and its relatively robust size, much like a Neckera in habit. The. plant is also easily recognized by its soft, whitish-green color. In the moist forest, as on the trail below Carbon Glacier, it is frequently found. P. pulchellum (Dicks, Hedw.) Bry. Eur. is a very slender, bright-green form that was found at about 5500 feet elevation on the Eagle Peak Trail. P. piliferum Sw. Bry. Eur. is a small form growing in glossy flat patches, bright green or yellowish in color. It is recognized by the concave leaves which are suddenly contracted to a long, slender tip. It occurs at about 2000 feet elevation at which point it was collected at Ohanapecosh, and also along the West Side Road. P. denticulatum (L. Hedw.) Bry. Eur. (See Plate XVI, Fig. 2) is a fairly robust form at lower elevations, but was not large when collected at 5200 feet on the Van Trump Trail, and 5900 feet on the Eagle Peek Trail. It grows in beautiful, glossy green mats with the individuals much entangled. P. denticulatum var. aptychus (Spruce) occurs more commonly in Mt. Rainier National Park than the foregoing, being very common around Longmire. It differs in being larger and more yellowish in color. P. denticulatum var. Donii (Smith) Lindb. collected below the Carbon Glacier in the deep forest, is very glossy and has ovate leaves with blunt apices.

PLATE XVI.

Fig. 1. (Hypnaceae, subfamily Hypneae). Hypnum circinale Hook. 1a - portion of plant x3. 1b - leaf, showing circinate apex.
Fig. 2. (Hypnaceae, subfamily Plagiothecieae). Plagiothecium denticulatum L. Hook. 2a - portion of plant x8. 2b - leaf x35.
Fig. 3. (Hypnaceae, subfamily Entodonteae). Holmgrenia intricata Hartm. Lindb. 3a - entire plant x3. 3b - leaf x35.

Descriptions continued...