# Queen moss = Hydropogonella gymnostoma



## miremonster (Mar 26, 2006)

I've already found Hydropogonella gymnostoma as alleged botanical name for the "Amblystegiaceae sp. Manaus" or "Queen moss" on several websites. Picture: http://www.flowgrow.de/neue-und-bes...lystegiaceae-sp-manaus-queen-moss-t24514.html

Now I've found the source of that info. There's a paper from a bryologist about the ID of the aquarium moss:

Hiroyuki Akiyama (2013): Taxonomical and ecological notes on Asian bryophytes, 28. : Hydropogonella gymnostoma, widely distributed as "Queen moss" [in Japanese]. - Bryological research 10(11), 367-368, 2013-07. The Bryological Society of Japan.
http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/110009662793
Abstract:
"One of conspicuous new commers for aquarium plants in mosses known as "Queen Moss" or "Amblystegiaceae sp. Manaus" was revealed to be Hydropogonella gymnostoma."

Hydropogonella gymnostoma is distributed in tropical America. One of the yet very few aquarium mosses from that region. It doesn't belong to the family Amblystegiaceae (as the tentative name A. sp. "Manaus" suggests) but to Sematophyllaceae, a predominantly tropical moss family.

A drawing of H. gymnostoma leaves is shown here, further below: 
http://www.tropicos.org/NamePage.aspx?nameid=35164179

-Heiko


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Thanks Heiko. I have some of this myself and really like it. Quite prolific. Very nice to have a real name on it.


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## madmax (Sep 29, 2004)

That's great to hear Heiko! It bothered me that in the hobby the name was clearly not even in the right family, as no genus in the family Amblystegiaceae comes close. Here are some pics I've taken to help me try to get an I.D. 


Tim


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

Awesome info as always Heiko. This is easily one of the nicest mosses I've ever kept. It's easy to grow, a dark emerald green color, and the fronds have a really nice soft look to them.


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## miremonster (Mar 26, 2006)

Thanks for the praise; nice photos! As mentioned, the name isn't new in the hobby, and I remember that it was also doubted by hobbyists if H. gymnostoma is the correct name of the queen moss. It's primarily the scientific source and therefore my positive prejudice that I trust the ID, but there's IMO also nothing that speaks against it.

Fortunately the Hydropogonella gymnostoma is a very distinct moss, compared with the Taxiphyllum, Vesicularia, foliose liverwort etc. stuff where it's very difficult to explain the distinguishing characters to the hobbyists, and where also reliably determined species are easily confused with others.
It seems to me that especially several newer aquarium mosses that were first commercialized in Japan may be correctly named, and that ID's by experts may be behind these names. Perhaps there are further recent publications on aquarium moss ID such as that from Akiyama, maybe in Japanese only?

An apparently similar moss is Hydropogon fontinaloides, also occurring in Amazonia, according to the descriptions hanging on tree branches in inundated forests along rivers:
http://www.tropicos.org/Name/35164177?projectid=16


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