Ostrich moss (English spelling) Ptilium crista‐castrensis (Hedw.) De Not.

Japanese: ダチョウゴケ（英語表記）Ptilium crista‐castrensis (Hedw.) De Not.

A beautiful large moss of the Hypnaceae family. It is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, and in Japan it grows in colonies on humus soil from the subalpine to alpine zones. The plant is yellow-green and grows obliquely upward. The stems reach over 10 cm in length and branch out regularly like pinnates. The leaves on the main stem are broad, broadly ovate in the lower half and caudal in the upper half, bending strongly sickle-shaped backwards. The midvein is short and unclear, and the leaf surface has vertical wrinkles. The leaves on the branches are much smaller than those on the main stem. The capsule is curved and cylindrical, with inclined capsule teeth arranged in two rows, one inside and one outside. The Japanese name comes from the likening of the soft, neat plant body to ostrich feathers.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

ハイゴケ科の美しい大型の蘚類。北半球に広く分布し，日本では亜高山帯から高山帯の腐植質土に群生する。植物体は黄緑色で斜上する。茎は長さ10cm以上に達し，規則正しく羽状に分枝する。主茎の葉は幅広く，下半部は広卵形，上半部は尾状で後方へ強く鎌形に曲がる。中央脈は短く不明りょう，葉面に縦じわがある。枝の葉は主茎の葉よりもはるかに小さい。蒴（さく）は湾曲した円筒状で傾き，蒴歯は内外2列に並ぶ。和名は柔らかく端正な姿の植物体をダチョウの羽毛に見立てたもの。

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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