Common Pincushion - Dicranoweisia cirrata

Description

A small to medium-sized plant, usually forming neat, yellow-green to mid-green cushions to 3 cm tall. The leaves are about 2.5 mm long, erect and somewhat wavy when moist, and strongly crisped when dry. They are narrowly spearhead-shaped and gradually taper to a finely acute tip. The leaf margins are narrowly recurved and the nerve extends into the tip. Capsules are common, cylindrical and erect on a yellow seta which is often curved when moist.

Identification difficulty
Recording advice

Needs a good quality photograph.

Habitat

Occurring on trees, fence posts, thatch and a variety of other organic substrates, and on exposed rocks and old stone walls in hilly districts.

When to see it

All year round

UK Status

Widespread and common in Britain except in the extreme north of Scotland.

VC55 Status

Common in Leicestershire and Rutland.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Common Pincushion
Species group:
Mosses & Liverworts
Kingdom:
Plantae
Order:
Dicranales
Family:
Rhabdoweisiaceae
Records on NatureSpot:
30
First record:
10/11/1991 (Dennis Ballard)
Last record:
09/03/2024 (Bell, Melinda)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

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