PLEUROCOCCUS

also called Protococcus, or Moss genus of green algae. Several other algae and a number of lichens are also popularly called mosses (e.g. Irish moss, oak moss), as are all members of the plant class Bryopsida (see moss). Pleurococcus is found as a thin, green covering on the moist, shaded side of trees, rocks, and soil. Because it grows on the north (or shaded) side of trees, stone walls, and fences, Pleurococcus is an important compass direction indicator. The spherical cells, either solitary or clumped together forming short false filaments, have heavy cell walls that protect the cells against excessive water loss. Each cell contains a large dense chloroplast, either lobed or plate-shaped. Reproduction is by cell division only. The taxonomic position of Pleurococcus is uncertain.