This beautiful moss usually grows year round on tree branches in compact little cushions. I believe this is Ulota crispa, known commonly as the Crisped Pincushion, and native to eastern North America.
It's called an acrocarpus moss, where the reproductive capsules occur at the tip of upright stems that are raised above the moss bed. They present as brilliant green foci on tree bark that draws your eye to them in the woods.
Mosses are amazingly effective at sequestering carbon, and the dead lower stems serve as a moisture reservoir that can store a lot of water when available.
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