Streamside moss

Leptodictyum riparium · Aquatic plants

Up close · Photo: James Hardee / CC BY

NativeSubmerged

Also called Streamside leptodictyum moss, Amblystegium riparium, Kneiff's feather moss

How to identify Streamside moss

Soft, limp, yellow green to dark green moss
Small lance shaped leaves with a single midrib, spread around the stem
Loose mats or trailing strands on rocks, wood and structures
A moss, with no flowers or roots

Similar plants

Water moss has larger, folded, keeled leaves in three rows; sickle moss has curved, sickle shaped leaves.

Growth profile

Growing season	Present all year, with most growth in cool water in spring and fall.
Starts growing	Cool water
Light	Tolerates shade
Depth	Splash zone to several feet
How it spreads	Fragments and spores
Habitat	Nutrient rich ponds, ditches, slow streams and wastewater lagoons, on rocks, wood, concrete and outlet structures.

Why it matters in a lake

One of the most pollution tolerant water mosses, so heavy growth often marks nutrient rich water. Can build up on intake screens and outlet structures.