Moss
Star moss (twisted moss)
Syntrichia ruralis
ModerateOpen jar only
Hair-tipped leaves that open into green stars when wet and twist brown when dry.
What the simulation uses
- Light
- 8,000 to 60,000 lux
- The brightness it grows well in.
- Humidity
- 30 to 75 % RH
- Air moisture it is happy in; below the lower end it dries out.
- Temperature
- 5 to 30 °C
- Comfortable range; outside it growth slows.
- Dies at
- below -30 or above 48 °C
- Days beyond these temperatures kill it.
- Soil pH
- 6 to 7.5 pH
- Soil acidity it prefers.
- Grows up
- 0.04 cm/month
- How fast it gains height in good conditions.
- Spreads
- 0.04 cm/month
- How fast its edge creeps outwards.
- Thickens
- 0.6 %/month
- How fast its cover fills in on its own ground.
- Copes with wet
- poor
- How well it stands soggy soil; poor means rot comes quickly.
- Copes with still air
- poor
- Sealed jars have still air; poor means grey mould finds it.
- Copes with shade
- poor
- How well it holds on in dim light.
- Copes with drying
- excellent
- How well it survives the jar drying out.
- Water use
- 0.035 ml/cm²/day
- Water that evaporates off the cushion each day in room air.
- Holds water
- 0.25 ml/cm²
- Water a cm² of moss soaks up and keeps.
- Grows on
- soil, stone
- Where it can take hold and spread. Moss that cannot grow on stone thins out there.
Care
- Day length
- 10 to 14 h
- Substrate
- Dry
What kills it
- closed humid jar
- constant wetness
- shade
Description
It can sit dormant for years and wake when watered. It likes sunny, dry, limy spots, so a closed humid jar, constant wetness and shade will kill it. Grow it in an open container in good light.
Also called Tortula ruralis, star moss, twisted moss, sidewalk screw moss.
Estimated, where sources were thin: growth rate; humidity_rh_pct.