Didymodon australasiae
Didymodon anserinocapitatus
leaves spreading-incurved and twisted to incurved-appressed when dry, spreading to spreading-recurved and not keeled when moist, monomorphic, short-lanceolate or sometimes short-ovate to long-elliptic, broadly concave adaxially across leaf, usually 1–2.5 mm, base scarcely differentiated in shape to ovate, margins usually recurved at mid leaf, entire, apex broadly acute or occasionally narrowly so, not fragile;
costa percurrent or ending a few cells below the apex, broader at mid leaf, occasionally weakly spurred, with a low adaxial pad of cells, adaxial costal cells quadrate, 4–6 cells wide at mid leaf, guide cells in 1–2 layers;
basal laminal cells differentiated medially or across leaf, quadrate to short-rectangular, walls very thin and not perforated;
distal laminal cells 7–12 wide, 1:1 or occasionally transversely elongate below, papillae usually distinct, low or simple to 2-fid, occasionally absent, lumens oval to rounded-quadrate, walls thin to evenly thickened, convex on both sides of lamina, 2-stratose in one or more rows along margins.
leaves erect-appressed when dry, spreading and not keeled when moist, monomorphic, lanceolate, adaxially weakly concave across leaf, 0.7–1.1 mm (absent tip) to 2 mm whole, base scarcely differentiated in shape, margins recurved at mid leaf, entire, apex thickened, long-cylindric to clavate, usually soon deciduous, usually absent in mature leaves;
costa excurrent, excurrency absent in mature leaves, not much widened or tapering at mid leaf but swollen in excurrency, pad of cells absent, adaxial costal cells quadrate, 4–6 cells wide at mid leaf, guide cells in 2 layers;
basal laminal cells differentiated medially, walls thin;
distal laminal cells 8–10 µm wide, 1:1, papillae essentially absent, lumens angular, walls thin, weakly convex on both sides, 1-stratose except in deciduous apex.
0.7–1 cm.
and sporophytes unknown.
1–1.9 mm;
peristome teeth 32, linear, weakly twisted, to 600 µm, occasionally rudimentary.
11–15 µm.
asexual reproduction by multicellular tubers on proximal rhizoids.
asexual reproduction by the deciduous leaf apex.
laminal KOH reaction variously negative or yellow- or orange- or red-brown.
lamina KOH color reaction reddish orange.
Didymodon australasiae
Didymodon anserinocapitatus
In North American Didymodon, hydroids are found in the costae of D. anserinocapitatus, D. australasiae, D. nevadensis, D. norrisii, D. umbrosus, D. revolutus, and D. vinealis, and in these species the adaxial stereid band is usually absent in well developed specimens. Intergrades exist between D. australasiae and D. umbrosus, but the extreme forms are common and quite distinctive.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
In the flora area, Didymodon anserinocapitatus is known only from Colorado and New Mexico (R. H. Zander and W. A. Weber 1997). The arctic species D. johansenii is similar in the swollen, deciduous apex, but differs mainly by its distal laminal cells 13–15 µm wide, and guide cells in only a single layer. Didymodon rigidulus var. icmadophilus, a widespread montane taxon, is similar in appearance but its leaf apices are never swollen though sometimes fragile. The American material differs from the Asian type (China: Tibet, Nan Xian, Zang Mu 1704, isotype–NY) in being less robust, the leaves reaching only 1.8 mm, and the proximal cells quadrate to short-rectangular (leaves to 2 mm and proximal cells to 4:1 in the Asian specimen).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CalFlora
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
