Bartramiaceae

Common names: Apple-moss

Family: Bartramiaceae

Nativity: Undetermined, but it grows throughout the northern hemisphere

Location: Waxhaw, North Carolina

Date: March 15, 2016

Notes: As my friend Lisa and I were stalking the trout lilies along the Mineral Springs Greenway, we came across apple-moss. It was growing all mixed in with the trout lilies in several spots along the creek. Apple-moss gets it’s common name from the shape of the spore capsules, which look like little green apples. The genus name honors John Bartram (1699–1777), who is sometimes called the father of American botany, and whose son William traveled and famously wrote about the flora and fauna of the Carolinas.