SPECIES FACT SHEET
Common Name: Bolander’s pygmy moss, Bolander’s candle moss
Scientific Name: Bruchia bolanderi Lesq.
Recent synonyms: none
Division: Bryophyta
Class: Bryopsida
Order: Dicranales
Family: Bruchiaceae
Taxonomic Note: Difficult to identify when found sterile. Can be
confused with Trematodon and sterile Bryum.
Technical Description: Plants small, emphermal, entire plant with
sporophyte 5.1–12.0 mm long; leaves lanceolate to lanceolate-subulate,
1.1–2.8 mm long, .2–0.6 mm wide, with poorly defined shoulder region;
margins entire, sometimes serrulate at the apex; costa percurrent; upper
median cells linear-oblong, thin-walled, 35–65 m long, 10–17 m wide;
autoicous; seta (1.5) 3 –7 mm long, sporophyte cylindric with an
elongated neck, cleistocarpus; spores 24–30 m, warty.
Distinctive characters: (1) cylindric cleistocarpus sporophytes with
elongated neck, and (2) warty spores.
Similar species: Bruchia bolanderi can be separated from other species
of Bruchia by the long seta and warty spores, and not well defined
shoulder region of the leaves. According to Rushing (1985) Bruchia
flexuosa is separated from B. bolanderi by having spinose type spores.
Although similar to the genus Trematodon the clestocarpic sporophyte
separates Bruchia from Trematodon.
Other descriptions and illustrations: Rushing (1985, 1986), Grout
(1936).
Life History: Bruchia bolanderi has a short ephemeral life cycle. Spores
generally germinate in the fall and develop over the winter. Sporophytes
mature in early spring and after spore dispersal the entire plants wither
and are gone by midsummer. Because Bruchia does not compete well
with other plants, it appears that some disturbance provides suitable
substratum for successful spore growth and development. Bliss & Linn
(1955) suggest that the genus Bruchia may be pioneers in old-field
succession.
Range, Distribution, and Abundance: Western North American
endemic. Known in the Pacific Northwest only from California and
Oregon. Known localities are few and very scattered.
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Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center reports it from Clackamas,
Deschutes, Klamath, and Lane Counties (Does not relect the newly
discovered sites in Union and Grant Counties).
BLM: Suspected on the Eugene, Lakeview, Prineville and Salem
Districts and the Klamath Falls Resource Area.
USFS: Documented on the Umatilla, Deschutes, Fremont/Winema,
Mount Hood, Rogue River-Siskiyou, and Willamette National
Forests.
Newly documented sites on the Umatilla National Forest expand our
knowledge of the range of this species in Oregon significantly eastward.
Habitat Associations: It occurs on disturbed, moist organic soil along
roadside ditches and fallow fields. In Oregon according to Christy &
Wagner (1996), B. bolanderi occurs in the subalpine zone and montane
meadows and stream banks only in the Cascade Range between 3500
and 5000 feet. Documented sites in Oregon occurred on soil in a mixed
conifer forest with Tsuga heterophylla, Abies concolor, Pinus contorta
forest; and on the root ball of upturned tree near a swampy lake. On
the Umatilla National Forest, sites are located in wet meadows at
approximately 5,000-6640’ in elevation.
Threats: Trampling along recreational trails and heavy grazing could
pose a threat to this species. Although light disturbance may provide
new substratum for colonization, there needs to be a population close
enough to provide spores.
Conservation Considerations: Revisit known locations to determine the
extent of the population and search suitable habitat for new sites.
Because of its ephemeral nature, this species may be overlooked and
under collected. Due to the newly expanded range of this species in
Oregon, consider conducting additional surveys in suitable habitats in
the gaps between the Umatilla locations and the next nearest locations to
the west, to help understand eastside habitats and range.
Conservation Rankings and Status:
Global: G3; National: (N3); Oregon (S2), California (S2.2)
Oregon: ORNHIC List 3
Washington: Not ranked
USFS/BLM Strategic Species in Oregon
Preparer: Judith A. Harpel Ph.D.
Edited by: Rob Huff
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Date Completed: October 2008
Revised by Rob Huff, February 2009
(Revision only adds information pertaining to the newly discovered
Umatilla NF sites).
Revised by Candace Fallon, February 2011
(Revision only adds Attachment 1, Photos).
ATTACHMENTS:
(1)
Photos
References:
Bliss, L. C. & R. M. Linn. 1955. Bryophyte communities associated with
old field succession in North Carolina. Bryologist 58: 120-131.
Christy, J.A. 2006. Bruchia flexuosa, Species Fact Sheet.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/sfpnw/issssp/species
Christy, J.A. & D. Wagner. 1996. Guide for the Identification of Rare,
Threatened or Sensitive Bryophytes in the Range of the Northern
Spotted Owl, Western Washington, Western Oregon and
Northwestern California. Bureau of Land Management, OregonWashington State Office. Portland, Oregon. 108 pp.
Grout, A. 1936. Moss Flora of North America North of Mexico Vol. 1 Part
1 . Newfane, Vermont. 61 pp.
NatureServe Explorer. 2008. An Online Encyclopedia of Life.
http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/
Rushing, A.E. 1985. Spore Morphology in the Genus Bruchia Schwaegr.
(Musci). American Journal of Botany 72(1): 75-85.
Rushing, A. E. 1986. A Revision of the Genus Bruchia Schwaegr. (Musci).
Journal of the Hattori Botanical Laboratory. 60: 35-83.
Zander, R. 2007. Bruchiaceae. In Flora of North America North of
Mexico. Vol. 27: 433-437. Bryophyta Part 1. Oxford Univ. Press.
Oxford. 713 pp.
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Attachment 1 – Photos
All photos by J. Harpel, under contract with the Oregon/Washington Bureau of Land
Management.
Upper medial cells
Calyptra
4
Alar and basal cells
Leaf
Leaf apex
5
Whole mount dry
Sporophyte
Whole mount wet
Whole sporophyte
6
Spores
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