Description

General - in very dense patches, yellowish green to reddish brown; branches feathery, firmly attached to substrate.

Leaves - Alternate, unequally divided into 4 - 5 lobes, wrapped around stem.

Sporophytes - egg-shaped capsule on fleshy 5 - 7 mm long stalk.

Habitat

Tree bases and rotting wood; occasionally on rocks or soil; very common and widespread across Northwestern Ontario's boreal forest northwestward to east-interior Alaska; circumpolar.

Notes

Hand shaped leaves, which are divided into 3 - 5 lobes, are distinctive of this genus in our area. The species name pulcherrimum is the diminutive form of the Latin pulcher, which means 'beautiful' or 'handsome', so this name means 'little pretty'.

Return to Top of Page