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BFNA Title: Homalotheciella |
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BRACHYTHECIACEAE
-- HOMALOTHECIELLA XX. HOMALOTHECIELLA (Cardot)
Brotherus in H. G. A. Engler & K. A. E. Prantl, Nat. Pfl. 1(3): 1133.
1908 * [diminutive of Homalothecium] William D. Reese Homalothecium sect. Homalotheciella
Cardot, Bull. Herb. Boissier
7: 374. 1899 Plants small, creeping, yellowish green. Stems slender, pinnate; branches
short, erect, often curved. Leaves
on stems and branches similar, ascending, ovate-acuminate, nonplicate; margins serrate; apex slenderly
acuminate; costa slender, sometimes indistinct, reaching midleaf
or longer; medial cells elongate, smooth; alar
cells quadrate in vertical rows. Sexual
conditon autoicous; perigonia
gemmiform, axillary on
stem; perichaetia gemmiform, axillary
on stem. Seta straight, elongate,
papillose. Capsule erect, exserted, ovoid or slightly asymmetric, exothecial cells
oblong-rectangular; stomates scanty, proximal on
capsule; operculum obliquely rostrate; peristome double, exostome
pale yellow-orange, teeth incurved-connivent when
dry, spreading when wet, finely cross-striolate on
outer surface, transversely ridged on inner surface, fimbriate-bordered,
papillose at tips; endostome low, inconspicuous, imperfect, adherent to
teeth. Calyptra bearing a few
slender 1-seriate hairs. Species 2(--3)(1 in the flora): eastern North America, Central America
(Guatemala); South America (Guyana), Asia (China). SELECTED REFERENCE Robinson,
H. 1962. Generic revisions of North American Brachytheciaceae.
Bryologist 65: 73--146. 1. Homalotheciella
subcapillata (Hedwig) Brotherus in H. G. A. Engler
& K. A. E. Prantl, Nat. Pfl.
1(3): 1133. 1908 Pterigynandrum
subcapillatum Hedwig, Sp. Musc. 83. 1801; Burnettia fabrofolia Grout; Homalotheciella fabrofolia (Grout)
Brotherus; Homalothecium subcapillatum (Hedwig)
Sullivant; Pterogonium decumbens Schwägrichen;
Pterigynandrum brachycladon Palisot de Beauvois ex Bridel Plants glossy. Stems regularly or irregularly pinnate, branches ascending-erect,
straight or curved, 2 mm. Leaves
erect, concave, 1 mm; margins erect, serrate-denticulate; apex slenderly acuminate; costa slender, ending at mid leaf,
often weak or indistinct; medial cells elongate, 40--60 x 5 /um; alar cells quadrate in 2--5 vertical rows. Seta 5--10 mm. Capsule brown, mostly slightly asymmetric, smooth or
wrinkled-plicate when dry, 1--1.5 mm; peristome pale, teeth 300 /um. Calyptra 2 mm. Spores 18--25 /um. Spores mature September--February.
Trunks of soft-barked trees, rarely on logs, roots, stumps, and rocks, mesic to wet forests; 0--1950 m; Ala., Ark., Conn., Del.,
D.C., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Ky., La., Maine, Md., Miss., Mo., N.J., N.Y.,
N.C., Ohio, Pa., S.C., Tenn., Tex., Va., W.Va. Homalotheciella
subcapillata is distinctive in its small glossy creeping pinnate plants
bearing leaves with long slender tips crowded on short branches. Also, the nonplicate leaves with denticulate margins, weak costa, quadrate
alar cells, and delicately-haired calyptra make the species easy to recognize. Among the Brachytheciaceae the calyptra
is mostly naked and the leaves are often plicate. Plants of Pylaisiella selwynii (Hypnaceae) can be very similar to H. subcapillata at first glance, but
differ in their more regularly curved branches and ecostate
entire-margined leaves. |
