Shiragagoke - Shiragagoke

Japanese: シラガゴケ - しらがごけ

A general term for the moss Leucobryum genus of the Leucobryaceae family. There are more than 100 known species in the world, with about 10 in Japan, and they are particularly common in warm regions. The plant body often grows in colonies and forms a cushion-like shape. The leaves are multi-layered, with large hollow transparent cells on the outside and small green cells on the inside. The transparent cells contain air when dry and water when moist, so the plant body is whitish-green when dry and pale green when moist. L. neilgherrense C.Muell. is widely distributed in East Asia, and in Japan it is a common species in the mountains of western Japan.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

蘚類のシラガゴケ科シラガゴケ属Leucobryumの総称。世界に100種以上，うち日本に約10種が知られ，とくに暖地に多い。植物体は群生してクッション状になることが多い。葉は多層で，外部に大きな中空の透明な細胞，内部に小さな緑色の細胞がある。透明細胞は乾くと空気を，湿ると水を含むため，植物体は乾燥時には白緑色，湿潤時には淡緑色となる。ホソバオキナゴケL.neilgherrense C.Muell.は東アジアに広く分布し，日本では西日本の山地の普通種。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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