Anomodon minor |
Anomodon attenuatus |
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anomodon moss, rounded tongue moss |
anomodon moss, poodle moss |
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Habit | Plants medium-sized, in loose mats, dark to light green. | Plants large, in dense mats, yellowish green. |
Stems | to 2.5(–6) cm, (0.6–)1–1.7 mm thick when dry, not or seldom branched, not pinnate, primary branches erect-ascending to arcuate, julaceous when dry, secondary branches not attenuate, often slightly clavate at apices; central strand cells poorly or not differentiated; pseudoparaphyllia absent; rhizoids few. |
1.5–3 cm, 0.8–1 mm thick when dry, profusely branched, irregularly pinnate, primary branches prostrate to arcuate, mostly attenuate, secondary branches attenuate at apices; central strand cells not differentiated; pseudoparaphyllia absent; rhizoids somewhat abundant. |
Branch leaves | imbricate, appressed, or rarely slightly crisped when dry, erect to spreading, complanate, not secund when moist, broadly oblong-ligulate, sometimes slightly spatulate, abruptly narrowed mid leaf, (1–)1.5–2.3(–3) mm; base broadly decurrent; margins undulate, sometimes infolded, sometimes dentate to spinulose at insertion because of very high papillae, entire at apex; apex rounded, intact; costa moderately strong, ending before apex, not obscured by laminal cells, often 2-fid at end, pellucid, abaxial costa cells papillose, papillae rounded-simple, in rows; basal laminal cells hyaline, mostly papillose, region extending to 1/3 basal leaf portion; medial and distal cells hexagonal, 7–12 µm wide, papillae many, branched. |
appressed when dry, complanate when moist, ligulate, slightly narrowed mid leaf, 1.2–2(–2.2) mm; base broadly decurrent; margins plane, entire from base to apex (cells moderately mammillose at insertion), sometimes denticulate near apex; apex acute, sometimes obtuse or slightly apiculate, intact; costa strong, sharply ending a few cells before apex, sometimes fading in youngest leaves, not obscured by laminal cells distally, pellucid, abaxial costa cells smooth; basal laminal cells hyaline or sometimes chlorophyllose, papillae few, region sometimes extending more than 1/2 length of leaf base; distal cells quadrate, 6–8 µm, papillae many, branched. |
Seta | 0.4–1.6 cm. |
1–1.5 cm. |
Capsule | ovoid, urn 1.5–2.2 mm; stomata absent; annulus well developed; operculum obliquely short-rostrate, 0.3–0.6 mm; exostome teeth irregular, to 0.4 mm, not striolate proximally, papillose distally, often trabeculate; endostome very reduced, basal membrane to 2 cells high, segments irregular, fragmentary. |
oblong, urn 1.6–2.8 mm; stomata at base; annulus not differentiated; operculum obliquely short-rostrate, 1.3 mm; exostome teeth irregular, 0.3 mm, striolate proximally, trabeculate and ± finely papillose towards apex; endostome basal membrane 3 or 4 cells high, segments well developed. |
Spores | (11–)13–18(–21) µm, smooth to faintly papillose. |
10–13 µm, densely papillose. |
Perichaetia | on terminal branches, beyond distalmost branching points, leaves with distal laminal cells papillose. |
never beyond last branching points, leaves abruptly narrowed, costa to beyond mid leaf, ending near apex in most interior leaves, laminal cells smooth. |
Anomodon minor |
Anomodon attenuatus |
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Phenology | Capsules mature early fall. | Capsules mature early-mid fall. |
Habitat | Deciduous forests, calcareous rock, bark of trees | Tree bark, at base, soil, rock |
Elevation | moderate to high elevations | low to moderate elevations |
Distribution |
AL; AR; AZ; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; AB; MB; NB; ON; QC; Mexico; Central America (Costa Rica, Guatemala); Asia
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AL; AR; AZ; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; Mexico; West Indies (Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica); Central America (Belize, Guatemala); Europe; Asia (India, e Russia, Turkey)
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Discussion | Large plants of Anomodon minor with occasional noncomplanate leaves are distinguished from those of A. viticulosus by their more slender habit and smaller leaves, imbricate when dry and not secund when moist; A. viticulosus has more congested, secund branch leaves. Often A. minor has strongly spinulose basal marginal cells, like those of the auricles of A. rugelii. The lack of auricles and the thick papillae on the abaxial costa distinguish A. minor, although the presence of obvious papillae is not absolutely consistent. Characters that have been taken as of great taxonomic value for A. minor and A. rugelii may be found mixed. The only characters that remain congruent are the auricles (sometimes extremely reduced) and foliose pseudoparaphylla of A. rugelii (absent in all specimens of A. minor). Anomodon thraustus, rare in North America, has been misidentified as A. minor, but the distal costa of the latter remains pellucid for most of its length and often becomes asymmetrically 2-fid. In North America A. minor requires mesic habitats and fruits infrequently. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Anomodon attenuatus is a rather polymorphic species producing abundant sporophytes in North America. The attenuate branches, sometimes arcuate and seldom ascending, are distinctive. However, this character is sometimes lacking; in some specimens the branch apices become slightly capitate and incurved. Robust plants of A. attenuatus might be mistaken for those of A. viticulosus as both have acute leaf apices. They can be distinguished by their branch morphology: prostrate and complanate in A. attenuatus, ascending and robust in A. viticulosus. Also, the leaf shape is different in both species: lanceolate and with no constriction in A. attenuatus, broadly ligulate, abruptly narrowed from a broadly ovate base in A. viticulosus. The costa in A. attenuatus also lacks the thick, aligned papillae on the dorsal surface. A consistent character in fertile plants is the absence of gametangia beyond the most recent branching points (they are never formed in the youngest branches). The branching pattern is often of several orders of successive branching, in stepwise fashion; the endostome is papillose. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 28, p. 632. | FNA vol. 28, p. 634. |
Parent taxa | Anomodontaceae > Anomodon | Anomodontaceae > Anomodon |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Neckera viticulosa var. minor, A. platyphyllus, N. minor | Leskea attenuata, Hypnum attenuatum |
Name authority | (Hedwig) Lindberg: Bot. Not. 1865: 126. (1865) | (Hedwig) Huebener: Muscol. Germ., 562. (1833) |
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