Isothecium myosuroides
Isothecium myosuroides Brid.
Pseudisothecium myosuroides (Brid.) Grout3
Brachytheciaceae
Conservation status. Critically Endangered [CR B2ab(iii)].
Morphology and biology. Perennial pleurocarpous moss. Tufts glossy, brownish green or yellowish brown. Secondary stems arched, growing upwards, tree-like or pinnately branched, 2–5 cm long. Branches sharply pointed, often thread-like and elongated. Stem leaves 1–1.5 mm long, with wide heart-shaped base and almost thread-like upper part and toothed margins. Nerve single, ending about ½ way up leaf. Branch leaves ovate-lanceolate, shortly tapering to leaf point, toothed. Sporophytes erect or sometimes inclined, symmetrical or slightly swollen at one side, on 11–16 mm long stalk. Unisexual.
Habitats and populations. Plants grow on tree bark, on rocks and screes in forests and habitats sheltered from wind.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Balkan Range (Central – near the chalets Balkanski Rozi and Hubavets, and near the Karlovsko Praskalo watefall), Rhodopi Mts (Central – the valley of Arda River above the town of Rudozem), Strandzha Mts (valley of Veleka River near village of Gramatikovo).
General distribution. Balkan Peninsula (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, Serbia), W, N and C Europe, N and SW Russia, SW and E Asia, Asian part of Turkey, N and Tropical Africa, North America. Sub-oceanic (sub-Mediterranean) species.
Threats. Destruction, exploitation and fragmentation of forest habitats, especially near human settlements; degradation and lost of suitable habitats as a result of logging; low potential for long distance dispersal because of rare spore production.
Conservation measures taken. Part of the species localities are in the areas of Strandzha Nature Park and Central Balkan National Park (including Stara Reka Reserve) as well as in sites of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. Long-term study, assessment of trends in habitat changes, prognosis for population development, and identification of conservation measures.
Note. The information about species localities in Central Balkan Range and Rhodopi Mts was obtained after finishing the species evaluation and publishing the Red list of the bryophytes in Bulgaria. The threatened status of Isothecium myosuroides will be changed during the next species evaluation.
References. Petrov 1963, 1966b.
Author: Anna Ganeva
