Meesia uliginosa
Meesia uliginosa Hedw.
Meesiaceae
Conservation status. Vulnerable [VU D2].
Morphology and biology. Perennial acrocarpous moss forming green to yellow green tufts. Shoots erect, 1–2 cm long. Leaves erect, linear-lanceolate to lingulate-lanceolate, margin entire, leaf apex obtuse. Nerve single ending below leaf apex, occupying to 1/2 of leaf base. Bisexual. Spore capsule elongate-pyriform, curved, borne on 1–8 cm long seta.
Habitats and populations. Grows in Sphagnum mires and fens along mountain streams and on wet rocks. The populations have restricted distribution and low density.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Balkan Range (Central – the slopes of Baba peak), Vitosha Region (Vitosha Mt. – Reznyovete).
General distribution. Europe, Iceland, Greenland, Caucasus, N and C Asia, Himalayas, China, North America. Boreal-mountain species.
Threats. Major negative factor is habitat degradation due to pollution, eutrophication, drainage and general climate drying, which leads to overgrowing of wetlands by competitive higher plants. The species is vulnerable to stochastic processes due to small number of populations.
Conservation measures taken. The population in Vitosha Mt is in Vitosha Nature Park, and that in the Balkan Range is in Central Balkan National Park. All localities are in sites of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria
Conservation measures needed. To study the dynamics of numerical strength and area of the populations, as well as the biology and ecology of the species in Bulgaria, to elucidate the threatening factors and monitor the populations.
References. Podpéra 1911; Petrov 1966b.
Author: Rayna Natcheva
