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BFNA Title: Cirriphyllum |
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BRACHYTHECIACEAE
-- Cirriphyllum XX. Cirriphyllum Grout, Bull. Torrey Bot.
Cl. 25: 222. 1898 * [from Latin cirrus,
curling lock of hair, and Greek phyllon,
leaf]. Michael S. Ignatov Plants large, in loose soft tufts, light or
whitish green, glossy. Stems prostrate,
with central strand, densely to moderately densely terete foliate, regularly
pinnately branched, branches straight, terete-foliate; axillary hairs
3--5-celled; juvenile branch leaves acute. Stem leaves closely imbricate near ends of shoots, loosely
imbricate below to somewhat spaced, erect, ovate or elliptic proximally and
abruptly contracted into a long, filiform acumen, slightly rounded to base,
long and broadly decurrent, strongly concave, not or slightly plicate; margin
plane distally, recurved in proximal half of basal part of leaf, serrate to
serrulate; costa reaching 0.3--0.6 of leaf length, lacking a terminal spine;
juxtacostal basal cells shorter and sometimes broader, thick-walled, not
conspicuously delimited; cells in leaf corners subquadrate, enlarged, forming
a pellucid triangular group adjacent decurrency, abruptly delimited from
laminal cells and reaching about half way to costa; laminal cells linear,
thick-walled, and, in proximal part of leaf, sometimes strongly porose. Branch leaves similar to stem leaves
but smaller and narrower, or often more gradually tapered and twisted just
before apex, more strongly serrate distally. Sexual condition dioicous; perichaetial leaves abruptly
contracted to long, reflexed acumens. Seta
dark brown, rough. Capsule brown,
inclined to horizontal, ovate to elongate, slightly curved; annulus
separating by fragments; operculum long-rostrate; peristome xerocastique,
perfect. Calyptra naked. Species 3 (1
in the flora). North America, Eurasia, Africa, A. J. Grout
(1898) segregated Cirriphyllum from
Eurhynchium, accepting four species
in SELECTED REFERENCE:
Grout, A. J. 1898. A revision of the North American Eurhynchia. Bull. Torrey
Bot. Club 25: 221--256. 1. Cirriphyllum piliferum (Hedwig) Grout, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club
25: 225. 1898 Hypnum piliferum Hedwig, Sp. Musc. Frond., 275. 1801. Stems to 10 cm, branches to 15 mm. Stem leaves 1.8--2.6 x 1--1.5 mm, laminal cells 50--110 x 6--10
um. Branch leaves to 2 x 0.7 mm. Seta 10--30 mm. Capsule 2--2.5 mm. Spores
12--15 /um. Soil, humus,
duff, decaying wood, occasionally limestone, in mesic to wet forests, ravine
slopes, tall-herb vegetation; 0--450 m; N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.W.T., Ont.;
Alaska, Conn., Maine, Mass., Mich., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Pa., S.C., Tenn.,
Vt., Wis.; Europe; Asia; n Africa. Cirriphyllum piliferum is easy to recognize by its rather
large size, usually pure green and somewhat whitish color, and the regular
pinnate branching. The concave-inflated and closely imbricate distal leaves
are abruptly contracted into filiform acumens, resulting in a peculiar
appearance when they stand at a sharp, broad angle from the upper shoot (when
wet, as it is usually occurs in the field). When a shoot is examined with a
dark background behind it, the acumens are usually easily visible, allowing
for ready field identification. Brachythecium
(Cirriphyllum) cirrosum differs from C.
piliferum (1) in the more abruptly contracted leaves, so the leaves are
more strongly piliferous, and the branch leaves that do not differ much in
this regard from stem leaves, whereas in C.
piliferum, the branch leaves are not or at least less strongly
piliferous, (2) the irregular branching (fairly regular in C. piliferum), (3) the usual yellow
color of the plants (usually green in C.
piliferum), and (4) rather small alar cells (enlarged in C. piliferum). In addition, the
distribution of the two species rarely overlaps in North America, and the
ecology is contrasts strongly. OTHER
LITERATURE Ignatov,
M. S. and S. Huttunen 2002 [2003]. Brachytheciaceae (Bryophyta)---a family of
sibling genera. Arctoa 11: 245--296. Ignatov,
M. S., I.A. Milyutina, and V.K. Bobrova 2008 [2009]. Problematic
groups of the Brachythecium and Eurhynchiastrum (Brachytheciaceae,
Bryophyta) and solutions suggested by nrITS sequences. Arctoa 17: 143--164. Robinson,
H. 1962 [1963]. Generic revisions of North
American Brachytheciaceae. Bryologist
65(2): 73-146. |
