pear moss

views updated

pear moss The common name for the moss Physocomitrum pyriforme (order Funariales). The name derives from the characteristic pear-shaped capsules formed in spring; the shoots are small (to 5 mm tall) and inconspicuous. Pear moss is found on damp ground and on mud, on roadsides, by ditches, on river banks, etc.

More From encyclopedia.com