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| The moss families (Bryophyta, Musci) of Britain and Ireland |
Gametophyte. Acrocarpous; forming patches (these small and lax). Mature plants 5–10 mm high. Paraphyllia absent. Pseudoparaphyllia absent. Stems not tomentose; with a differentiated central strand. The leaves of main stems and branches similar in form; bilaterally symmetrical; lanceolate, or lingulate; spiral; not crisped when dry (erect-flexuose with incurved tips when dry, patent when moist); not plicate. Leaf bases not sheathing; not decurrent. The leaves single-nerved. The leaf nerves extending to the leaf tip; excurrent. Leaf blade margins flat, or revolute or recurved; unistratose (in L. gaudichaudii); entire, or denticulate to dentate (sometimes, near the tip?). Leaf blades not conspicuously bordered. The basal leaf cells more or less isodiametric; hexagonal to rounded; smooth. The walls of basal leaf cells thick; straight. The angular cells not well differentiated. The mid-leaf cells more or less isodiametric; hexagonal to rounded; smooth. The walls of the mid-leaf cells thick; straight.
Plants dioecious. Plants gemmiferous; the gemmae in leaf axils and or on rhizoids (in the axils, uniseriate).
Sporophyte. Capsules exserted; erect; symmetrical; straight; narrowly sub-cylindric; not waisted; neither flattened nor angular; without an externally conspicuous apophysis; with an annulus; with a peristome (this perfect). The peristome double. The peristome teeth thin, membranous, and transversely barred; exteriorly with a fine longitudinal dividing line between the transverse bars. The inner peristome well developed. The operculum rostrate. Setae long; straight.
Ecology. In S. Kerry, confined to the trunks of the tree fern Dicksonia antactica. Commonly epiphytic, found in S. Kerry on trunks of the introduced tree fern, Dicksonia antarctica.
Cytology. Haploid chromosome number, n = 10 and 20 (in Tasmania).
Representation in Britain and Ireland. 1 species. Leptotheca. Ireland (only in South Kerry).
Classification. Class Bryopsida; Subclass Bryideae; Order Rhizogoniales.
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2005 onwards. The moss families (Bryophyta, Musci) of Britain and Ireland. Version: 5th August 2019. delta-intkey.com’.