granite moss

granite moss, any of the plants of the order Andreaeales of the subclass Andreaeidae, comprising a single family, Andreaeaceae, which includes the genus Andreaea, with fewer than 100 species, including A. fuegiana, which formerly made up the separate genus of Neuroloma. The reddish brown or blackish plants are about 2 cm (0.8 inch) high and grow in cold climates on nonlimy rocks such as granite or slate outcroppings.

The phyllids (leaves) of Andreaea, borne in three rows, are brittle and densely matted. The spores are shed through four moisture-sensitive slits in the capsule, or spore case; for this reason the mosses are sometimes known as slit mosses. The straplike or platelike protonema (the structure that produces the sexual plant by budding) provides firm attachment to the rock substrate and may become dormant in unfavourable conditions. The seta (capsule stalk) is greatly reduced in size, and the capsule is raised by lengthening of the plant stem.