Hypnum cupressiforme

Cypress Sleep moss ( Hypnum cupressiforme )

The cypress Sleep moss ( Hypnum cupressiforme ) is a common, often even at the habit easily recognizable pleurokarpes ( seitenfrüchtiges ) moss. In the Middle Ages it was assumed that the low- lying small twigs had a good sleep aid. Therefore, these were dried used as cushion fillings. This former use is similar to the German name. Hypnum derived from the Greek hypnos, which translated means sleep.

Features

It is an extremely rich in forms and variable species that often forms extensive lawn. The plants can be both highly branched ( as in the picture ) to be, or be made of thin, parallel overhead stems. They usually have 3-10 cm long, yellowish, olive green to deep green shiny stalks that look from some distance zöpfchen abruptly because the leaves are all curved downward.

The leaves are entire or dentate at most at the top of something. You only have a short double rib sometimes even missing. In the leaf blades there is a group of well differentiated cells.

The capsule stalk ( seta ) is 1-3 cm long and originates from lateral short shoots. The red-brown, cylindrical - roller -looking capsule is often horizontally inclined and has a kurzkegeligen cover. The spore maturation occurs from winter to spring.

Dissemination

The moss forms a vast lawn on very different substrates such as Earth, stumps, rocks and wood. In particular, in forests, it often forms mass stocks. It grows to a height of 3500 m.

The cypress sleep Moss is cosmopolitan spread.

System

Due to the shape of the wealth of nature, a large number of subspecies, varieties or forms have been described. Important examples are

• Var cupressiforme ( = var uncinatum )

• Uncinatulum var ( var = brevisetum )

• Fo. filiforme

The taxonomic value of these subunits is controversial.