PLANT OF THE MONTH

January 2021 — Grey Smooth Cap, Selwyn’s Atrichum Moss

Common Name:  Grey Smooth Cap, Selwyn’s Atrichum Moss

Latin Name:   Atrichum selwynii

Family:   Polytrichaceae

Type:    Moss

Origin:   Western United States

Location at Bloedel Reserve:   Moss Garden

Garden Uses:  Ground cover

Fun Fact:  With not much blooming this time of year, we find beauty in the different textures throughout the garden. Our founder Prentice Bloedel appreciated a composition variety and contrasting foliage over floral displays. This moss was first described in 1877 by Coe Finch Austin, an American educator and botanist originally from New York. One of the easiest ways of identifying this moss is by its distinct “whorled” leaves the and erect sporophytes.