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Dicranum scoparium

species of plant

Specimen drawers, botanical folios and brass scientific instruments under study light
Science and natureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 2, 2026
Entity authorityQ731278
Source-derived summary

Dicranum scoparium, the broom forkmoss, is a dicranaceous moss, native to most of the northern hemisphere as well as Oceania. It usually forms and grows in round mass clumps or mats on soil in dry to moist forested areas. As with many types of moss Broom moss grows in clumps with Broom mosses as well as other mosses. It can be distinguished by its leaves, which strongly curve to one side.

Description

Broom forkmoss is usually robust and coarse, forming shiny tufts with woolly stems 2–8 cm (0.79–3.15 in) high. The leaf midrib extends to the tip and usually has 4 ridges along its back. The leaves are 3.5–8 mm (0.14–0.31 in) long, lance-shaped with a long, slender point, and strongly toothed along the upper third. Most leaves will be folded and curved to one side, but may be wavy. Capsules are 2.3–5 mm long, urn-shaped and curved. The capsules are held on mostly-erect stalks 18–35 mm (0.71–1.38 in) long.

Editorial summary

“Dicranum scoparium” enters the record as species of plant. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Dicranum, scoparium and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA sound reference starting point where classification, measurement and the date of the underlying evidence remain visible. The current 160-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Dicranum, scoparium and species.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Dicranum scoparium” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Dicranum, scoparium and species provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q731278. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

Critical limits

Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

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Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Dicranum scoparium”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Dicranum scoparium primary sources, Dicranum scoparium archive and Dicranum research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Dicranum scoparium”?
  2. Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
  3. Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Dicranum scoparium” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.