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screw moss
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Young sporophytes of tortula moss (Tortula muralis) with slender red stalks and small capsules rise above dense green leafy gametophytes.
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Also called:
twisted moss
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screw moss

plant
Also known as: Tortula, twisted moss
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
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History

screw moss, any member of the moss genus Tortula (subclass Bryidae), which form yellow-green or reddish brown cushions on walls, soil, rocks, trees, and sand dunes in the Northern Hemisphere. About 25 of the 144 species are native to North America; the best-known species in both North America and Great Britain are T. muralis and T. ruralis.

Screw moss ranges in height from 0.5 to 10 centimetres (about 1/5 to 4 inches), depending on the species. The tongue-shaped phyllids (leaves) are usually tipped by a long hair. The teeth surrounding the “mouth” of the capsule (spore case) are often spirally twisted and are united at the base into a tubular membrane.

This article was most recently revised and updated by William L. Hosch.