Polytrichastrum alpinum(Hedw.) G.L.Sm.

alpine polytrichastrum moss

WFO wfo-0001186706 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Polytrichastrum alpinum, photographed by Randal
fig. a Randal, CC0 1.0 / 2022-06-10 / obs. 205170016
Polytrichastrum alpinum, photographed by Randal
fig. b Randal, CC0 1.0 / obs. 205165979
Polytrichastrum alpinum, photographed by Randal
fig. c Randal, CC0 1.0 / obs. 205172009
Polytrichastrum alpinum, photographed by Robyn Hanson
fig. d Robyn Hanson, CC0 1.0 / obs. 201803012
Polytrichastrum alpinum, photographed by Randal
fig. e Randal, CC0 1.0 / obs. 198293873
Polytrichastrum alpinum, photographed by Randal
fig. f Randal, CC0 1.0 / obs. 197332041
Polytrichastrum alpinum, photographed by Randal
fig. g Randal, CC0 1.0 / obs. 196268470
Polytrichastrum alpinum, photographed by Randal
fig. h Randal, CC0 1.0 / obs. 184930792

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Also published as 83 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Pogonatum alpinum (Hedw.) Röhl.
  • Pogonatum alpinum f. austrogeorgicum (Müll.Hal.) Cardot
  • Pogonatum alpinum f. elatum Cardot
  • Pogonatum alpinum f. nanocephalum (Müll.Hal.) Cardot
  • Pogonatum alpinum f. plurirameum (Müll.Hal.) Cardot
  • Pogonatum alpinum f. timmioides (Müll.Hal.) Cardot
  • Pogonatum alpinum subsp. macounii (Kindb.) Perss.
  • Pogonatum alpinum var. alpinum
  • Pogonatum alpinum var. arcticum (Sw. ex Brid.) Brid.
  • Pogonatum alpinum var. brevifolium (R.Br.) Brid.
  • Pogonatum alpinum var. campanulatum (Hornsch.) Bruch & Schimp.
  • Pogonatum alpinum var. furcatum (Hornsch.) Paris
  • Pogonatum alpinum var. macounii (Kindb.) Cardot & Thér.
  • Pogonatum alpinum var. microdontium (Kindb.) Macoun & Kindb.
  • Pogonatum alpinum var. simplex Schimp.
  • Pogonatum alpinum var. sylvaticum (Menzies) Lindb.
  • Pogonatum ambiguum (Michx.) P.Beauv.
  • Pogonatum arcticum (Sw. ex Brid.) P.Beauv.
  • Pogonatum austroalpinum (Müll.Hal.) Paris
  • Pogonatum austrogeorgicum (Müll.Hal.) Paris
  • Pogonatum campanulatum (Hornsch.) Brid.
  • Pogonatum fasciculatum (Michx.) P.Beauv.
  • Pogonatum furcatum (Hornsch.) Brid.
  • Pogonatum macounii (Kindb.) Macoun & Kindb.

and 59 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite. It has no native range either: Kew's checklist does not cover this taxon.