Campylopus introflexus
Campylopus subulatus
heath star moss
campylopus moss
4–6 mm, erect-patent when wet, appressed when dry, lanceolate, straight, with entire margins;
alar cells absent or formed by thin-walled, hyaline to reddish, inflated cells;
basal laminal cells hyaline, rectangular, thin-walled, extending higher at margins and forming a V-shaped area;
distal laminal cells incrassate, shortly rectangular to oblique, chlorophyllose;
costa filling 1/2–3/4 of leaf width, excurrent in a hyaline hair tip, which is conspicuously 90° reflexed, in transverse section showing adaxial hyalocysts and abaxial stereids, shortly lamellose at back with ribs 1–2 cells high.
3–4 mm, erect-patent when wet, appressed when dry, lanceolate, narrowed into a short, straight subula;
margins entire below, faintly serrate at apex;
apex of leaf serrate at back;
alar cells hardly differentiated, only slightly larger than the basal laminal cells;
basal laminal cells thin-walled, hyaline, rectangular;
distal laminal cells short, subquadrate;
costa filling 1/2–2/3 of leaf width, excurrent in a short concolorous apex, in transverse section showing adaxial hyalocysts that are 1/3 as wide as the costa, without abaxial stereids, ribbed at back.
7–12 mm, yellowish brown to brownish in age, often several sporophytes from the same plant, curved or sinuose.
brown, 1.5 mm, slightly asymmetric and curved when empty.
ciliate at base.
12–14 µm.
asexual reproduction occasionally by deciduous stem tips.
asexual reproduction by deciduous stem tips.
not known in North America [rare elsewhere].
Campylopus introflexus
Campylopus subulatus
Campylopus introflexus occurs in masses in sand dunes along the west coast of North America and throughout the Southern Hemisphere. The species was introduced in Great Britain in 1942, and since the beginning of the 1970s has been aggressively spreading through Europe. It now ranges from Iceland to Spain and from Ireland to Poland. The first record in North America dates from August, 1975, and was made on a gravel roof of a building of Humboldt University, Arcata, California. The species is undoubtedly introduced in North America and is spreading here as rapidly as in Europe. The name C. introflexus was used previously for C. pilifer, thus all old references for C. introflexus in North America have to be referred to that species. Also, specimens of C. surinamensis and C. oerstedianus from North America were named as C. introflexus. Campylopus introflexus is easily recognized by the reflexed hair points. Female plants have terminal perichaetial buds. Problems may rarely arise with forms from shaded habitats, in which the hairpoints are absent or so short that they are not reflexed.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Campylopus subulatus is known only from two localities in California and one in Oregon. Although all records of C. subulatus from North America were referred to C. schimperi by J.-P. Frahm and D. H. Vitt (1978), collections made later in California and Oregon proved to be the former species. Campylopus schimperi grows in compact tufts in alpine habitats and differs from C. subulatus by an abaxially smooth costa, and rectangular, not subquadrate distal laminal cells. Campylopus subulatus resembles C. tallulensis. The latter differs by distinct groups of abaxial stereids and adaxial hyalocysts, which are 1/2 as wide as the thickness of the costa.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
BC
CalFlora
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
