Bristle moss

Moss.
The members of the genus are small to medium-sized
acrocarpous mosses: they form tufts that are 0.5cm to
4cm tall, are often slightly branched, and have spore
capsules borne terminally on shoots, or on short side
branches. Most species are opaque mid-green, dirty
green or dark green. Their leaves are almost parallelsided,
tapering very gradually from the base, and
have tips that are anything from rounded to sharply
pointed. Sporophytes (spore capsules) are produced
annually from late spring to summer by most epiphytic
Orthotrichum, but some species fruit rarely and
instead reproduce primarily by using gemmae (asexual
buds on the leaf surfaces). The sporophytes are light
brown and roughly egg-shaped, tapering below into the
seta (their supporting stalk) and opening at the top to
release spores. In most species they are smooth when
moist, but become furrowed when dry. Around the open
mouth of the spore capsule is a double row of delicate
teeth, forming a peristome that helps with spore release.