To understand the characteristics of a Fe-accumulating moss Scopelophila ligulata, we compared the photoabsorption spectra of pigments from this and several other mosses and found that some of the absorption bands observed only for S. ligulata can be assigned to pheophytin a. The conversion rate from chlorophyll to pheophytin in S. ligulata was calculated to be 25%. This striking characteristic of S. ligulata could be explained by considering its habitat conditions.