nodding thread-moss

Pohlia nutans, the nodding thread-moss, is a species of moss in the family Mniaceae. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, found on all seven continents; Europe, Iceland, Siberia, Japan, North America, Greenland, the Andes of South America, South Africa, Tasmania and nearby mainland Australia, New Zealand, and the Antarctic Peninsula and Mount Rittmann in Antarctica. An extremophile, it is resistant to cold, drought, salt, acid, heavy metals, and intense UV radiation.

Pohlia nutans is subject to fungal infections which cause fairy rings to appear. Some causative agents have been identified, including species of Cladosporium, Mortierella gamsii and Mortierella fimbricystis.