One of the few mosses with a common name...it goes by 'Pincushion Moss' or even better...'Mother-in-Law's cushion'. It can grow into quite large rounded cushions, large enough to sit on...and it looks ever so cushy and comfy...so, if you don't actually like your mother-in-law, you invite her to rest her feet and have a seat....what you don't tell her, is that this moss, like many of the sphagnums is really good at soaking up water like a sponge, so when you sit down on it, you will end up with a wet bottom.
the thing that makes Leucobryum so distinctive, is also the reason why it soaks up water...it's leaf contains a great number of empty cells...The leaf has a midrib that is so broad that it doesn't look like a midrib at all anymore...it just looks like the leaf is thick and fleshy. When the plant dries out, it's color changes from green to a pale whitish green or light blue-green that is very distinctive.
|a small clump of moist Leucobryum|
|Notice the color when it's dry|
The cushions of Leucobryum are actually many separate plants all crowded together. the plants in the center of the clump continue to elongate which can make it form a nice hemispherical cushion.
|this is a scan of a piece of Leucobryum taken from a large cushion|
|a Leucobryum leaf - the whole center is made up of a thick midrib|
|Here is a nice patch of Leucobryum growing up next to McLeod pond in Colrain, MA.|
Now, doesn't it look comfy to sit on??