Physcomitrium readeri
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 | Data Deficient | Qualifiers: DPR, EF
Category
Non-vascular
Structural class
Mosses
Detailed description
Minute densely tufted plants with leaves forming terminal rosettes. Stems c.0.5 mm tall, simple. Leaves 1.50-1.75 mm long, comose at apex of stem, sparse, irregularly spaced and small below; lamina obovate or spathulate, obtuse or subacute; margins plane, bluntly serrulate towards apex.; nerve failing below apex. Cells 60-80 microns long and 2-3 x 1, subhexagonal; rectangular and longer below, smooth and pellucid. Seta up to 2 mm long, reddish. Capsule very fragile, up to 2 mm long, slightly exserted, widely oval to nearly spherical and near sessile, light-brown with a darker apex, cleistocarpous, with a differentiated conical apiculus. Calyptra mitriform, long and narrow above, with the widened part covering only a small portion of the capsule and with the archegonium neck sometimes adhering. Spores 30-37 microns, dark-brown, echinulate
Distribution
Indigenous. Australia and New Zealand. North and South Islands
Substrate details
Terricolous, (often semi-aquatic) on fine silt and damp soil
Threats
Extremely vulnerable to tall, shade tolerant weeds such as Tradescantia, Glyceria and other subaquatic or shade tolerant plants inhabiting river margins. Also vulnerable to changes in water levels.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
Physcomitrella austro-patens G.Roth; Physcomitridium readeri (C.M.) G.Roth.; Physcomitrella patens subsp. readeri (Mull.Hal.) B.C.Tan
Taxonomic notes
NZPCN follows Physcomitrium - see Medina et al. (2019).
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Fruiting
Although fruit has been seen insufficient information exists to provide any details on the timing of fruiting
Other information
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
PHYPSR
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.
2009 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: DP, EF, RR, ?SO
2004 | Threatened – Nationally Critical
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
R Medina, MG Johnson, Y Liu, N. Wickett, AJ Shaw, B Goffinet. 2014. Phylogenomic delineation of Physcomitrium (Bryophyta: Funariaceae) based on targeted sequencing of nuclear exons and their flanking regions rejects the retention of Physcomitrella, Physcomitridium and Aphanorrhegma. Jounral of Systems and Evolution. 57: 404-417 https://doi.org/10.1111/jse.12516