Ceratodon purpureus
Table of Contents
Introductory
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Tesky, Julie L. 1992. Ceratodon purpureus. In: Fire Effects
Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer).
Available: https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/bryophyte/cerpur/all.html
[].
Revisions:
10 September 2013: The Fire Case Study of Zasada and others' [9,35,36]
study was converted to a Research Project Summary.
ABBREVIATION :
CERPUR
SYNONYMS :
Ceratodon dimorphus
Mielichhoferia recurvifolia
SCS PLANT CODE :
CEPU12
COMMON NAMES :
fire moss
purple horn-toothed moss
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name for fire moss is Ceratodon
purpureus (Hedw.) Brid. [16]. According to Zander [33], 3 subspecies
and 36 varieties have been described worldwide, but names were not
mentioned in this source.
LIFE FORM :
Bryophyte
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
SPECIES: Ceratodon purpureus
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Fire moss is widespread throughout Canada, where it is known from every
province and territory. In the United States it occurs in every state.
It likely occurs in every country throughout the world but is possibly
replaced by closely related taxa in tropical latitudes [16].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES10 White - red - jack pine
FRES11 Spruce - fir
FRES12 Longleaf - slash pine
FRES13 Loblolly - shortleaf pine
FRES14 Oak - pine
FRES15 Oak - hickory
FRES16 Oak - gum - cypress
FRES17 Elm - ash - cottonwood
FRES18 Maple - beech - birch
FRES19 Aspen - birch
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES22 Western white pine
FRES23 Fir - spruce
FRES24 Hemlock - Sitka spruce
FRES25 Larch
FRES26 Lodgepole pine
FRES27 Redwood
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES29 Sagebrush
FRES30 Desert shrub
FRES31 Shinnery
FRES32 Texas savanna
FRES33 Southwestern shrubsteppe
FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
FRES35 Pinyon - juniper
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
FRES37 Mountain meadows
FRES38 Plains grasslands
FRES39 Prairie
FRES40 Desert grasslands
FRES41 Wet grasslands
FRES42 Annual grasslands
FRES44 Alpine
STATES :
AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA
HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD
MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ
NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC
SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WI WY AB
BC MB NB NF NT NS ON PE PQ SK
YT MEXICO
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
1 Northern Pacific Border
2 Cascade Mountains
3 Southern Pacific Border
4 Sierra Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
6 Upper Basin and Range
7 Lower Basin and Range
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
11 Southern Rocky Mountains
12 Colorado Plateau
13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
14 Great Plains
15 Black Hills Uplift
16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K001 Spruce - cedar - hemlock forest
K002 Cedar - hemlock - Douglas-fir forest
K003 Silver fir - Douglas-fir forest
K004 Fir - hemlock forest
K005 Mixed conifer forest
K006 Redwood forest
K007 Red fir forest
K008 Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
K009 Pine - cypress forest
K010 Ponderosa shrub forest
K011 Western ponderosa forest
K012 Douglas-fir forest
K013 Cedar - hemlock - pine forest
K014 Grand fir - Douglas-fir forest
K015 Western spruce - fir forest
K016 Eastern ponderosa forest
K017 Black Hills pine forest
K018 Pine - Douglas-fir forest
K019 Arizona pine forest
K020 Spruce - fir - Douglas-fir forest
K021 Southwestern spruce - fir forest
K022 Great Basin pine forest
K023 Juniper - pinyon woodland
K024 Juniper steppe woodland
K025 Alder - ash forest
K026 Oregon oakwoods
K027 Mesquite bosque
K028 Mosaic of K002 and K026
K029 California mixed evergreen forest
K030 California oakwoods
K031 Oak - juniper woodlands
K032 Transition between K031 and K037
K033 Chaparral
K034 Montane chaparral
K036 Mosaic of K030 and K035
K037 Mountain-mahogany - oak scrub
K038 Great Basin sagebrush
K039 Blackbrush
K040 Saltbush - greasewood
K041 Creosotebush
K042 Creosotebush - bursage
K043 Paloverde - cactus shrub
K044 Creosotebush - tarbush
K045 Ceniza shrub
K046 Desert: vegetation largely lacking
K047 Fescue - oatgrass
K048 California steppe
K049 Tule marshes
K050 Fescue - wheatgrass
K051 Wheatgrass - bluegrass
K052 Alpine meadows and barren
K053 Grama - galleta steppe
K054 Grama - tobosa prairie
K055 Sagebrush steppe
K056 Wheatgrass - needlegrass shrubsteppe
K057 Galleta - three-awn shrubsteppe
K058 Grama - tobosa shrubsteppe
K059 Trans-Pecos shrub savanna
K060 Mesquite savanna
K061 Mesquite - acacia savanna
K062 Mesquite - live oak savanna
K063 Foothills prairie
K064 Grama - needlegrass - wheatgrass
K065 Grama - buffalograss
K066 Wheatgrass - needlegrass
K067 Wheatgrass - bluestem - needlegrass
K068 Wheatgrass - grama - buffalograss
K069 Bluestem - grama prairie
K070 Sandsage - bluestem prairie
K071 Shinnery
K072 Sea oats prairie
K073 Northern cordgrass prairie
K074 Bluestem prairie
K075 Nebraska Sandhills prairie
K076 Blackland prairie
K077 Bluestem - sacahuista prairie
K078 Southern cordgrass prairie
K079 Palmetto prairie
K080 Marl - everglades
K081 Oak savanna
K082 Mosaic of K074 and K100
K083 Cedar glades
K084 Cross Timbers
K085 Mesquite - buffalograss
K086 Juniper - oak savanna
K087 Mesquite - oak savanna
K088 Fayette prairie
K089 Black Belt
K090 Live oak - sea oats
K091 Cypress savanna
K092 Everglades
K093 Great Lakes spruce - fir forest
K094 Conifer bog
K095 Great Lakes pine forest
K096 Northeastern spruce - fir forest
K097 Southeastern spruce - fir forest
K098 Northern floodplain forest
K099 Maple - basswood forest
K100 Oak - hickory forest
K101 Elm - ash forest
K102 Beech - maple forest
K103 Mixed mesophytic forest
K104 Appalachian oak forest
K105 Mangrove
K106 Northern hardwoods
K107 Northern hardwoods - fir forest
K108 Northern hardwoods - spruce forest
K109 Transition between K104 and K106
K110 Northeastern oak - pine forest
K111 Oak - hickory - pine forest
K112 Southern mixed forest
K113 Southern floodplain forest
K114 Pocosin
K115 Sand pine scrub
K116 Subtropical pine forest
SAF COVER TYPES :
1 Jack pine
5 Balsam fir
12 Black spruce
13 Black spruce - tamarack
14 Northern pin oak
15 Red pine
16 Aspen
18 Paper birch
19 Gray birch - red maple
20 White pine - northern red oak - red maple
21 Eastern white pine
22 White pine - hemlock
23 Eastern hemlock
24 Hemlock - yellow birch
25 Sugar maple - beech - yellow birch
26 Sugar maple - basswood
27 Sugar maple
28 Black cherry - maple
30 Red spruce - yellow birch
31 Red spruce - sugar maple - beech
32 Red spruce
33 Red spruce - balsam fir
34 Red spruce - Fraser fir
35 Paper birch - red spruce - balsam fir
37 Northern white-cedar
38 Tamarack
39 Black ash - American elm - red maple
40 Post oak - blackjack oak
42 Bur oak
43 Bear oak
44 Chestnut oak
45 Pitch pine
46 Eastern redcedar
50 Black locust
51 White pine - chestnut oak
52 White oak - black oak - northern red oak
53 White oak
55 Northern red oak
57 Yellow-poplar
58 Yellow-poplar - eastern hemlock
59 Yellow-poplar - white oak - northern red oak
60 Beech - sugar maple
61 River birch - sycamore
62 Silver maple - American elm
63 Cottonwood
64 Sassafras - persimmon
65 Pin oak - sweetgum
67 Mohrs ("shin") oak
68 Mesquite
69 Sand pine
70 Longleaf pine
71 Longleaf pine - scrub oak
72 Southern scrub oak
73 Southern redcedar
75 Shortleaf pine
76 Shortleaf pine - oak
78 Virginia pine - oak
79 Virginia pine
80 Loblolly pine - shortleaf pine
81 Loblolly pine
83 Longleaf pine - slash pine
84 Slash pine
85 Slash pine - hardwood
88 Willow oak - water oak - diamondleaf oak
89 Live oak
91 Swamp chestnut oak - cherrybark oak
92 Sweetgum - willow oak
93 Sugarberry - American elm - green ash
94 Sycamore - sweetgum - American elm
95 Black willow
96 Overcup oak - water hickory
98 Pond pine
101 Baldcypress
107 White spruce
108 Red maple
109 Hawthorn
110 Black oak
201 White spruce
202 White spruce - paper birch
203 Balsam poplar
204 Black spruce
205 Mountain hemlock
206 Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
207 Red fir
208 Whitebark pine
209 Bristlecone pine
210 Interior Douglas-fir
211 White fir
212 Western larch
213 Grand fir
215 Western white pine
216 Blue spruce
217 Aspen
218 Lodgepole pine
219 Limber pine
220 Rocky Mountain juniper
221 Red alder
222 Black cottonwood - willow
223 Sitka spruce
224 Western hemlock
225 Western hemlock - Sitka spruce
226 Coastal true fir - hemlock
227 Western redcedar - western hemlock
228 Western redcedar
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
NO-ENTRY
SPECIES: Ceratodon purpureus
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
NO-ENTRY
PALATABILITY :
NO-ENTRY
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
The rapid colonization of fire moss after disturbance can help prevent
soil erosion [29]. In revegetation trials on disturbed riverbank sites
in Quebec, Canada, fire moss was codominant with Canada bluegrass (Poa
compressa) [21].
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Fire moss is able to tolerate much higher pollution levels than other
mosses [26]. It is common in urban and industrial environments
subjected to a variety of pollutants, along highways, and on the
tailings and refuse associated with both coal and heavy-metal mining
activities. Fire moss is common in the vicinity of a zinc smelter in
Palmerton, Pennsylvania. However, populations growing on mine tailings
or in other habitats contaminated by heavy metals often lack sporophytes
in spite of vigorous gametophytic growth [30].
Fire moss contains photoprotective pigments, which are a useful
adaptation for the bright Antarctic environment. Leaf pigment varies
from green to ginger [24].
The abundance of fire moss after disturbance promotes a large
accumulation of organic matter, which favors the development of
invertebrate fauna [4].
Fire moss is eaten by some grasshopper species in the genus Tetrix [26].
SPECIES: Ceratodon purpureus
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Fire moss is a native, short moss that forms dense tufts or sometimes
cushions [3,28]. The stems are erect, usually about 0.5 inch (1.3 cm)
long. The upper 0.19 inch (0.5 cm) is current year's growth [28]; often
slightly branched by forking at the tip of the old growth [8]. The
stems sometimes become 2.4 to 3.1 inches (7-8 cm) long in shaded places
[14]. Leaves are short and hairlike, spreading when moist; somewhat
folded or twisted when dry [8,28].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
NO-ENTRY
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Fire moss is dioecious [30]. The capsules are held horizontally on the
end of a long seta (fruit stalk) [28]. Fire moss generally fruits
abundantly [8]. Wind is the main method of spore dispersal [23].
Spore germination in fire moss is a two-phase process. Spores first
swell then distend [22]. Usually the setae are present in great numbers
in the colony; with changes in humidity they twist and untwist. This
movement helps to jerk the capsules, helping in spore discharge.
Possibly the contraction of the grooves in the capsule at maturity also
helps to squeeze out the spores [28]. Spores of fire moss have remained
viable even after drying for 16 years [26].
Vegetative reproduction: Fire moss reproduces vegetatively via
protonemata (threadlike or platelike growths) [2].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Fire moss is often found on disturbed sites. It occurs on a wide range
of substrates including soil, rock, wood, humus, old roofs, sand, and
cracks of sidewalks [8,16,28]. It is most abundant on exposed, compact,
mineral, dry, gravelly or sandy soils but tolerates a wide range of soil
textures [28]. Sand dunes close to water in Scotland are colonized by
fire moss, which grows between the shoots of grasses [26]. Fire moss is
typically found associated with other species characteristic of
disturbed sites such as fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) and pearly
everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea) [6].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Obligate Initial Community Species
Fire moss prefers low competition and high light; however, it is
somewhat shade tolerant [15,18]. It is a colonizer of disturbed sites
and readily invades mineral soil by spores [23]. Fire moss is often
replaced by flowering plants in later stages of succession [26]. In the
black spruce (Picea mariana)-lichen woodlands of Alaska and Canada, the
first stage of revegetation, which lasts from 1 to 20 years, is
dominated by pioneer mosses such as fire moss. Fire moss continues to
increase in the early part of the shrub stage but begins to decrease
toward the end of this stage [32].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Fire moss sporophytes appear early in the spring, as soon as the snow
melts [3]. In March, the setae reach their full height and begin to
turn from green to red. Capsules mature by late spring [8]. By
midsummer the capsules often decay, and the setae break from the moss
[14].
SPECIES: Ceratodon purpureus
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Fire moss's light wind-carried spores readily colonize burned areas
[23].
FIRE REGIMES:
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the
FEIS home page
under "Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
NO-ENTRY
SPECIES: Ceratodon purpureus
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Fire moss is typically killed by fire [7].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Fire moss will colonize burned areas through lightweight, off-site,
wind-dispersed spores [2,7]. High-severity fire, which exposes mineral
soil, provides ideal conditions for the germination of fire moss spores.
Fire moss is often the dominant vegetation for several years following
high-severity fire [26]. It produces few spores late in the first
postfire year and many in the second [7]. If fire takes place in early
spring; gametophores can develop in 4 to 5 months. If the fire takes
place in the fall, colonization is slower [26].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
Following a 1976 high-severity summer fire on heathlands of Brittany,
France, fire moss was the most prevalent species in the majority of
sites until fall of 1979 when heavy rain and frost caused high mortality
[4]. Fire moss populations culminated about 15 years after a
high-severity fire in northern Sweden. After 24 years, populations had
declined considerably [31]. At one site in Michigan, fire moss was
first observed in 1930, 4 years after a high-severity fire. By 1940,
this moss covered 50 percent of the ground, and by 1950 it had colonized
95 percent. Other mosses and Cladonia lichens appeared in 1942 and by
1971 had almost replaced fire moss [26]. On a severely burned heathland
in Brittany, France, a moss layer dominated by fire moss developed to a
maximum in the first year then decreased rapidly and disappeared by the
third year. Forty-three percent of the original fire moss patches were
replaced by patches of the moss Polytrichum piliferum [12].
For information on prescribed fire and postfire responses of many plant
species, including fire moss, see Hamilton's Research Papers
(Hamilton 2006a, Hamilton 2006b) and these Research Project Summaries:
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
SPECIES: Ceratodon purpureus
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2. Auclair, A. N. D. 1983. The role of fire in lichen-dominated tundra and forest-tundra. In: Wein, Ross W.; MacLean, David A., eds. The role of fire in northern circumpolar ecosystems. Scope 18. New York: John Wiley & Sons: 235-256. [18510]
3. Bland, John H. 1971. Forests of Lilliput. The realm of mosses and lichens. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 210 p. [18663]
4. Clement, B.; Touffet, J. 1981. Vegetation dynamics in Brittany heathlands after fire. Vegetatio. 46: 157-166. [18454]
5. Conard, Henry S. 1956. How to know the mosses and liverworts. Dubuque, IA: Wm.C. Brown Company Publishers. 226 p. [9927]
6. Cormack, R. G. H. 1953. A survey of coniferous forest succession in the eastern Rockies. Forestry Chronicle. 29: 218-232. [16458]
7. Crane, M. F.; Habeck, James R.; Fischer, William C. 1983. Early postfire revegetation in a western Montana Douglas-fir forest. Res. Pap. INT-319. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 29 p. plus chart. [710]
8. Dunham, Elizabeth Marie. 1951. How to know the mosses: a popular guide to the mosses of the United States. Boston, MA: The Mosher Press. 289 p. [30992]
9. Dyrness, C. T.; Norum, Rodney A. 1983. The effects of experimental fires on black spruce forest floors in interior Alaska. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 13: 879-893. [7299]
10. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
11. Foote, M. Joan. 1983. Classification, description, and dynamics of plant communities after fire in the taiga of interior Alaska. Res. Pap. PNW-307. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. 108 p. [7080]
12. Forgeard, F. 1990. Development, growth and species richness on Brittany heathlands after fire. Oecologica. 11(2): 191-213. [15641]
13. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others]. 1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
14. Grout, A. J. 1932. Moss flora of North America, north of Mexico. Vol. 3. Part 3. New York: The author. 277 p. [18657]
15. Hall, Christine N.; Kuss, Fred R. 1989. Vegetation alteration along trails in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. Biological Conservation. 48: 211-227. [9306]
16. Ireland, R. R. 1982. Moss flora of the Maritime Provinces. Publications in Botany No. 13. [Ottawa, ON]: National Museum of Natural Sciences. 738 p. [18662]
17. Kelsall, John P. 1957. Continued barren-ground caribou studies. Wildlife Management Bulletin Series 1: No. 12. Ottawa, Canada: Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources, National Parks Branch, Canadian Wildlife Service. 148 p. [16597]
18. Klinka, K.; Krajina, V. J.; Ceska, A.; Scagel, A. M. 1989. Indicator plants of coastal British Columbia. Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia Press. 288 p. [10703]
19. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York: American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
20. Lutz, H. J. 1953. The effects of forest fires on the vegetation of interior Alaska. Juneau, AK: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. 36 p. [7076]
21. Morin, Edith; Bouchard, Andre; Jutras, Pierre. 1989. Ecological analysis of disturbed riverbanks in the Montreal area of Quebec. Environmental Management. 13(2): 215-225. [13233]
22. Olesen, Peter; Mogensen, Gert Steen. 1978. Ultrastructure, histochemistry and notes on germination stages of spores in selected mosses. The Bryologist. 81(4): 493-516. [31110]
23. Perez, Francisco L. 1991. Ecology and morphology of globular mosses of Grimmia longirostris in the Paramo de Piedras Blancas, Venezuelan Andes. Arctic and Alpine Research. 23(2): 133-148. [14958]
24. Post, A. 1990. Photoprotective pigment as an adaptive strategy in the Antarctic moss Ceratodon purpureus. Polar Biology. 10(4): 241-246. [18948]
25. Racine, Charles H. 1981. Tundra fire effects on soils and three plant communities along a hill-slope gradient in the Seward Peninsula, Alaska. Arctic. 34(1): 71-84. [7233]
26. Richardson, D. H. 1981. The biology of mosses. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications. 220 p. [18658]
27. Schofield, W. B. 1985. Introduction ot bryology. New York: MacMillan Publishing Company. 431 p. [18947]
28. Shaw, J.; Jules, E. S.; Beer, S. C. 1991. Effects of metals on growth, morphology, and reproduction of Ceratodon purpureus. Bryologist. 94(3): 270-277. [18946]
29. Scotter, George W. 1963. Effects of forest fires on soil properties in northern Saskatchewan. Canadian Forestry Chronicle. 39(4): 412-421. [13605]
30. Shaw, J.; Jules, E. S.; Beer, S. C. 1991. Effects of metals on growth, morphology, and reproduction of Ceratodon purpureus. Bryologist. 94(3): 270-277. [18946]
31. Uggla, Evald. 1959. Ecological effects of fire on north Swedish forests. Stockholm, Sweden: Almqvist and Wiksells. 18 p. [9911]
32. Viereck, L. A.; Dyrness, C. T. 1979. Ecological effects of the Wickersham Dome Fire near Fairbanks, Alaska. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-90. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. 71 p. [6392]
33. Zander, Richard H.; Ireland, Robert R. 1979. Propaguliferous Ceratodon purpureus in riparian environments. The Bryologist. 82(3): 474-478. [29439]
34. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p. [434]
35. Zasada, John C.; Norum, Rodney A.; Teutsch, Christian E.; Densmore, Roseann. 1987. Survival and growth of planted black spruce, alder, aspen and willow after fire on black spruce/feather moss sites in interior Alaska. The Forestry Chronicle. 63(2): 84-88. [85354]
36. Zasada, John C.; Norum, Rodney A.; Van Veldhuizen, Robert M.; Teutsch, Christian E. 1983. Artificial regeneration of trees and tall shrubs in experimentally burned upland black spruce/feather moss stands in Alaska. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 13: 903-913. [6991]
FEIS Home Page
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