Andreaea Moss

Description

A. mutabilis forms small, dark red to almost black cushions to 1 cm tall. The nerveless leaves are usually less than 1 mm long and similar to A. rupestris, but rather more distant and lack a clasping base so that the insertion of the leaves on the stem is usually visible. The plants are sometimes said to resemble a tiny spruce shoot. The leaves often have a distinct yellow patch at the centre of the base of the leaf which is visible with a hand lens.