philonotis falcata moss

Aug 30, 2023

2 min read

Updated: Aug 5

Philonotis falcata, commonly known as an apple moss or spring moss, belongs to the family Bartramiaceae.

The photos and videos in this collection were taken at different locations and at different times. Although the moss looks slightly different from one location to another, I can now confirm that all of these records show Philonotis falcata.

This moss is exceptionally light, soft, and almost feather-like. In the wild, I usually find it growing on moist vertical surfaces where water constantly flows or slowly seeps over the moss.

I recently rediscovered these records, which I made several years ago when I was still uncertain about the species. I originally thought the moss might be Philonotis seriata or Philonotis marchica, but I can now identify it as Philonotis falcata.

This short video documents its unusual growth cycle. From my observations, Philonotis falcata is a fast-growing but relatively short-lived moss. If you watch closely, you can see different patches repeatedly grow green, turn yellow, die back, and then become green again as new growth appears.

The location shown in the video is also a typical example of its natural habitat: a constantly moist, nearly vertical surface with water flowing slowly across it.

https://youtube.com/embed/7Xth754rPhU

Those are found on vertical cement surface. There is a sheer layer of soil and only shows after days of raining.

They like vertical wall, if any running water flowing down. My first instagram (hacked and I failed to get it back) records a clip of them spreading a wall. It rained a lot for weeks and there formed a small waterfall.

I put them there to show you how lightweight they are.

They do can live on water in this way with some support, like dead leaves, roots of waterplants.

Pay attention to the mini green spots on the rock and floating on the water. That is how they propagate themselves.

Now you know where to find them and how to grow at home. Check this one. I put several mini bonsai planted in lava rock in the house terrairum (I removed the lid to water them conveniently). I did not plant them and with time pass, they came and dominated there.