[2] It forms loose, pale green to yellowish-white mats and is characterised by its highly divided leaves that give it a feathery or fuzzy appearance.

While capable of sexual reproduction, with male and female structures on separate plants, it reproduces predominantly through vegetative means via branching and fragmentation.

Trichocolea tomentella was first documented in 1700 by Joseph Pitton de Tournefort under the name Muscus palustris absinthii folio insipidus.

Its range extends from northern Portugal and Spain northwards to southern Norway, Sweden and Finland, and from Ireland and Great Britain eastward to western Russia.

In western Norway, it occurs in two distinct habitat types: Alnus glutinosa forests with Carex remota understory, and on poorer mineral soils in narrow river gorges dominated by either Betula pubescens or ferns.

The species reproduces predominantly through asexual means via clonal regeneration and branching, with sexual reproduction (sporophyte production) being rare in much of Europe, though more common in eastern North America.

Its dispersal ability appears to be limited, particularly in areas where it reproduces only asexually, though it may occasionally spread through water, mammals, or birds carrying detached shoot fragments.

[5] Trichocolea tomentella shows high clonal persistence in undisturbed habitats, with individual plants reproducing primarily through vegetative means via branching and fragmentation rather than sexually through spores.

Gene flow between populations appears to be limited even at small spatial scales (1 km), suggesting the species has restricted dispersal abilities.

This combination of traits – clonal persistence, competitive ability in suitable microsites, but limited dispersal – makes the species vulnerable to habitat fragmentation while also allowing it to maintain stable populations in undisturbed conditions.