Ceratodon purpureus
Common names
Moss
Biostatus
Native
Current conservation status
This is the first complete assessment of all known species of mosses found in the wild in Aotearoa New Zealand with a total of 560 species being assessed. The conservation status of mosses, published in the NZTCS database, replaces all previous assessments of mosses. Data supporting the 2025 NZTCS assessment of mosses has been published on the NZTCS database at https://nztcs.org.nz/reports/1155.
Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2025 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: SO
Category
Non-vascular
Structural class
Mosses
Detailed description
Colonial, terricolous, dark green moss. Stems c.10 mm tall (or less), simple or branched. Leaves 1.00-1.25 mm long, when dry appressed and weakly twisted, with curved apices, suberect to spreading when moist; lamina base long, broadly oblong or ovate (up to 0.4 mm wide), narrowly ligulate, with an obtuse apex; margins entire, recurved throughout, except towards the apex. Nerve very strong, about 100 microns wide at the base, failing below the apex. Cells above 8-10 microns, subquadrate, incrassate, smooth and pellucid; those at the base rectangular, about 20 microns long, with rather firm walls. Perichaetium sheathing, with the inner bracts much longer than the leaves. Seta 10.0-12.5 mm long, slender, red, slightly flexuose. Capsule 10-15 mm long, oblong or cylindrical, brown. Peristome dark-brown with 16 teeth; divided completely into two filiform, scarcely auriculate, minutely papillose crurae, ad united at the base into a well-developed, closely and strongly auriculate, basal membrane.
Distribution
Endemic. North Island, Pureora, Wairarapa
Substrate details
Terrestrial on damp soil within indigenous forest
Threats
Known from very few collections. Highly threatened by habitat loss, weeds and human traffic (trampling). Vulnerable to plant collectors.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
Didymodon calycinus Dixon (placed in Pottiaceae)
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Fruiting
Spring to Summer (exact fruiting period unknown)
Other information
Previous conservation statuses
This is the first complete assessment of all known species of mosses found in the wild in Aotearoa New Zealand with a total of 560 species being assessed. The conservation status of mosses, published in the NZTCS database, replaces all previous assessments of mosses. Data supporting the 2025 NZTCS assessment of mosses has been published on the NZTCS database at https://nztcs.org.nz/reports/1155.
Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2014
2009 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: De, DP
2004 | Threatened – Nationally Critical
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Sainsbury, G.O.K. 1955: A handbook of the New Zealand mosses. Royal Society of New Zealand Bulletin 5.
Fact Sheet Prepared for NZPCN by: P.J. de Lange (1 June 2007). Description adapted from Sainsbury (1955)