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.