Flora of North America species comparison

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Dicranoweisia crispula

dicranoweisia moss, mountain pincushion, mountain thatch-moss
Leaves

crisped and curled when dry, plane in many leaves, 2-stratose in distal 1/2, cells with longitudinal striolae in distal 1/2 of leaf; usually a few alar cells enlarged on margins, often colored.
Capsule

without differentiated annulus;

peristome vertically striolate basally, weakly papillose distally.
Specialized

asexual reproduction absent.

Dicranoweisia crispula
Phenology Capsules mature spring–early summer.
Habitat Forming cushions on siliceous rock or gravel, occasionally epiphytic or epixylic
Elevation 10-2000 m (0-6600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; AZ; CA; CO; ID; ME; MI; MT; NC; NH; NM; NV; OR; SD; TN; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NU; ON; QC; YT; Greenland; Asia
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Discussion

Dicranoweisia crispula is an extremely variable species. In stature the plants vary 1–6 cm, while the leaf length varies 1–3.5 mm. The capsules vary considerably from cylindric to short-elliptic, with the length ranging 0.5–2 mm. The shape and sheathing of the perichaetial leaves is also variable. Although this species is autoicous, sex organs are often absent, especially in terrestrial plants, with sporophytes correspondingly infrequent. Differentiation of alar cells is often weak in North American material and the striolation can also be weak, and is best observed on cells adjacent to the costa. This species is widespread mainly at higher elevations in western North America, but sporadic in the eastern part of the continent, again occurring mainly at higher elevations.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 27, p. 396.
Parent taxa Dicranaceae > Dicranoweisia
Sibling taxa
D. cirrata
Synonyms Weissia crispula, D. crispula var. compacta, D. contermina, D. roellii, Trichostomum alpinum, Weissia compacta
Name authority (Hedwig) Milde: Bryol. Siles., 49. (1869)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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