The delicate fern moss is perfectly named, reproducing the bipinnate or tripinnate structure of many ferns
on a Lilliputian scale. These mosses are native to eastern North America, Alaska, Europe, the Caucasus,
Siberia, Asia, Mexico, and South America.
Identification: "Fern fronds" are 1-3″ (3-8 cm) in length,
and adorn living and dead branches, as well as moist, shaded soil, humus, rocks, logs, or stumps.
Fern moss may appear as deep green, yellow green, or orange-brown. The orange-brown coloration is not
(necessarily) an indicator of poor health.
12/22/2011 · Groton Place and Sabine Woods, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 14 cm)
12/10/2011 · Groton Place and Sabine Woods, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (11 × 17 cm)
8/15/2015 · Grafton Notch State Park, Newry, Maine · ≈ 11 × 7″ (28 × 18 cm)
8/16/2015 · Table Rock Hike, Appalacian Trail, Grafton Notch State Park · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 19 cm)
(The oval leaves and red berry is partridgeberry [Mitchella repens.]) · 12/10/2011 · Groton Place and Sabine Woods, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 15 cm)
8/16/2015 · Table Rock Hike, Appalacian Trail, Grafton Notch State Park · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 16 cm)
8/5/2023 · Oven’s Mouth Preserve, West Preserve, Boothbay, Maine