Bryum torquescens
Bryum torquescens De Not.
Bryaceae
Conservation status. Vulnerable [VU D2].
Morphology and biology. Perennial acrocarpous moss forming yellowish green or bluish green inside dense or lax reddish tufts, 1.0–2.5 cm high, with rhizoid felt. Leaves when dry spirally twisted around stem. Toward apex leaves wider, narrower lower on the leaf, with leaf base running down stem. Leaf margin recurved, with border of elongated cells, toothed above. Nerve projecting beyond the end of lamina as a smooth or toothed point. Sporophytes cylindrical, hanging. Gemmae spherical and red, on rhizoids. Unisexual or bisexual.
Habitats and populations. Plants grow on dry, often calcareous, soil along roads, in dry pastures with semi-open herb vegetation, occasionally on rocks.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Strandzha Mts (Trionski Dol).
General distribution. Balkan Peninsula (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, R Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania) and other part of Europe (Austria, UK, Ireland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Italy, Crete, Crimea), Caucasus, C and SW Asia, Africa, North and South America, Australia, New Zealand. Sub-Mediterranean/sub-oceanic species.
Threats. Exposed dry pastures overgrown with shrubs, limited species dispersal, low expansion capability.
Conservation measures taken. The only species locality in Bulgaria is in the area of Strandzha Nature Park and in a site of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. Long-term study, assessment of trends in habitat changes, and prognosis for population development.
References. Stefanoff 1971.
Author: Anna Ganeva
