Common haircap moss; Golden maidenhair     Harilik karusammal or käolina      Polytrichum commune

Estonian moss friends chose a moss of the year for the first time; of seven candidates it turned out to be the common hair cap moss. Seven species in Estonia belong to the Polytrichacea family: the best known of them and most widely spread is the species that was chosen as the moss of the year.

The haircap moss establishes extensive and high patches in forests developing into bogs and marshes. The plants can grow to a height of up to half a metre. The leaves are held stiffly out from the stem, a little like a bottle brush. In early summer the spore capsules with golden yellow hairy caps are eye-catching in the tips of the plants.

Good reason to describe the haircap moss more in detail in early summer

Common haircap moss