Candle snuffer mosses are common in the dry grasslands of the Kamloops area. They are often found in early spring in small protected areas often on bare mineral soil out of the wind and somewhat sheltered from the sun. I usually look for them on exposed mineral soil that is shaded from the sun – sometimes on cutbanks along trails. They usually form small bright green patches. If you look closely, they frequently produce capsules as soon as the snow has melted.

   Each capsule is covered in a small papery covering called a calyptra. Many mosses will have these on developing capsules and are actually remnants of the flask-shaped archegonium – the structure that contained the egg cell that grew into a capsule following fertilization. The distinctive feature about the calyptra of candle snuffer mosses is that it completely encloses the developing capsule. It somewhat resembles a candle snuffer, hence, the name.

The leaves of Encalypta rhaptocarpa are similar to other mosses that inhabit dry grasslands in the the leaf tips have long clear hairpoints that help to reflect some of the sunlight and create a barrier to air movement around the moss that would help reduce evaporation from the leaf surface.

Another distinctive feature of Encalypta leaves is that the cells at the base of the leaf are clear cells that have thick cross-walls.

whereas the smaller green square leaf cells that make up most of the leaf are covered in small “c”-shaped bumps or papillae.

There are over a dozen species of Encalypa in North America. Features that are used to distinguish between species include the presence or absence of the clear hairpoints on the leaves, whether or not the bottom of the calyptra is fringed, and whether or not the capsule has longitudinal ridges.