Hylocomium splendens, commonly known as Glittering Wood-moss, Stair-step Moss and Mountain Fern Moss, is a perennial

Perennial plant

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...

 clonal moss

Moss

Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...

 with a widespread distribution in Northern Hemisphere

Northern Hemisphere

The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...

 boreal

Boreal ecosystem

The term boreal is usually applied to ecosystems localized in subarctic and subantarctic zones, although Austral is also used for the latter....

 forests. It is commonly found in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

 and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, where it is often the most abundant moss species. It also grows in the Arctic

Arctic

The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...

 tundra

Tundra

In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...

 and further south at higher elevations in, for example, northern California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, western Sichuan

Sichuan

' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...

, East Africa

East Africa

East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 and the West Indies. In Scotland it is a characteristic species of the Caledonian Forest

Caledonian Forest

The Caledonian Forest is the name of a type of woodland that once covered vast areas of Scotland. Today, however, only 1% of the original forest survives, covering in 84 locations. The forests are home to a wide variety of wildlife, much of which is not found elsewhere in the British...

. Under the UK's national vegetation classification system, pinewood community W18 is named as "Pinus sylvestris-Hylocomium splendens woodland", indicating its significance in this ecosystem.

Morphology

It is generally olive green, yellowish or reddish green in colour, with reddish stems and branches. These often form branches up to 20 cm. long, with current year's growth starting from near the middle of the previous year's branch. This produces feathery fronds in steps. It is possible to estimate the age of a plant by counting the steps - a new level being produced each year. This form of growth enables the species to "climb" over other mosses and forest debris that falls on it. It is shade-loving, grows in soil and humus and on decaying wood and often forms mats with living parts growing on top of older, dead or dying sections. Further south, the plants are larger with several steps; further north, in the arctic tundra

Tundra

In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...

, the plants are smaller with few steps.

Ecology

Occurring widely in the boreal forests, this plant is often found on forest floors even in relatively harsh northern latitudes. In Canada, for example, according to C. Michael Hogan the Black Spruce

Black Spruce

Picea mariana is a species of spruce native to northern North America, from Newfoundland west to Alaska, and south to northern New York, Minnesota and central British Columbia...

/Feathermoss climax forest often occurs with moderately dense canopy featuring a forest floor of feathermosses that include H. splendens, Pleurozium schreberi and Ptilium crista-castrensis

Ptilium crista-castrensis

Ptilium crista-castrensis is a moss species within the family Hypnaceae, in the class Bryopsida, subclass Bryidae and order Hypnales.-Ecology:...

.

Use

The species has a commercial use in floral exhibitions and for lining fruit and vegetable storage boxes. In the past it was utilised as a floor covering for dirt floors and in Alaska and northern Canada it is still used for filling the gaps between the logs in log cabins. It has anti-bacterial qualities and may also contain anti-tumour agents.