Calymperastrum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Calymperastrum |
|
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Calymperastrum
|
| Species: |
latifolium
|
Calymperastrum latifolium is a very special type of moss. It is the only species in its entire group, called a genus, which is named Calymperastrum. This moss is quite rare because it has only been found three times! All these times, it was growing on the trunks of a plant called Macrozamia. These discoveries happened in the Southwest Botanic Province of Western Australia. Because it has only been found there, scientists think it lives only in that area. This makes it the only moss genus known to be unique to Western Australia.
Contents
What Does This Moss Look Like?
This interesting moss grows in a low, carpet-like patch. From above, it looks yellowish-green, but underneath, it's more yellowish-brown. Its stems are about six millimetres long and do not branch out. The lower half of the stems has reddish-brown hairs. The moss also has many narrow, spoon-shaped leaves that are about 2.0 to 3.1 millimetres long. Scientists don't know much about how it reproduces or what its sporophytes (the part that makes spores) look like.
How Scientists Named This Moss
This moss was first found near Perth in the 1840s. A scientist named Georg Ernst Ludwig Hampe first wrote about it in 1846. He called it Calymperes latifolium.
Later, in the 1980s, scientists looked at it very closely. They realized it only looked like the Calymperes moss. It actually belonged to a different plant family called Pottiaceae. But it didn't fit into any of the moss groups already known in that family.
So, in 1985, a scientist named Ilma Grace Stone created a brand new genus just for this moss. She named the new genus Calymperastrum and moved C. latifolium into it.
Since then, another scientist, R. H. Zander, studied it in 1993. He found that this moss has features that are a mix between the Pottiaceae and Calymperaceae families. It's quite unique! In 1999, the new genus Calymperastrum was officially accepted as a valid group in a big list of mosses.
Where This Moss Lives
As we mentioned, Calymperastrum latifolium has only been found three times. One time was near Perth, and two times were near Windy Harbour. Because of this, scientists believe it only lives in the Southwest Botanic Province of Western Australia. This makes it the only moss genus that is endemic (meaning it lives only there) to Western Australia. Even though this region has three other moss species that are also endemic, this is the only genus that is unique to the state.
How This Moss Lives in Nature
All three times this moss was found, it was growing on the trunk of a Macrozamia plant. This makes scientists think that this moss might prefer to grow on Macrozamia trees. However, they are not completely sure yet.
Because there are so few known places where this moss grows, the Department of Environment and Conservation has given it a special rating. It's listed as "Priority Two - Poorly Known Taxa" on their list of rare plants. This means they know it's rare and want to learn more about it to help protect it.
