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didymodon moss

Habit Plants usually blackish green. Plants green to red-brown.
Stem(s)

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 appressed when dry, strongly recurved and keeled when moist, monomorphic, ovate-triangular, adaxially grooved along costa, 2–2.5 mm, base scarcely differentiated in shape to ovate, margins nearly plane to recurved at mid leaf, entire, apex broadly acute;

costa percurrent to short-excurrent, not fragile, weakly tapering, widened pad of cells absent, adaxial costal cells elongate, 2–3 cells wide at mid leaf, guide cells in 1 layer;

basal laminal cells differentiated medially, rectangular, walls thickened and often porose;

distal laminal cells 13–15 µm wide, 1:1, papillae usually present, simple, often large, 1–3 centered over lumens, lumens angular, walls irregularly thickened and often trigonous but trigones smaller than lumens, convex on both sides, 1-stratose.

Seta

0.7–1 cm.

Sexual condition

sterile in range of flora.

Capsule

1–1.9 mm;

peristome teeth 32, linear, weakly twisted, to 600 µm, occasionally rudimentary.

Spores

11–15 µm.

Specialized

asexual reproduction by multicellular tubers on proximal rhizoids.

asexual reproduction absent.

Distal

laminal KOH reaction variously negative or yellow- or orange- or red-brown.

laminal KOH reaction dark red.

Sporophytes

unknown.

Didymodon australasiae

Didymodon maximus

Phenology Capsules mature winter–spring.
Habitat Soil, gypsum, acid rock, ledges, sandstone, silt Cliffs, outcrops, canyons, limestone, tundra meadow
Elevation moderate to high elevations (300-2000 m) [moderate to high elevations (1000-6600 ft)] low to moderate elevations (20-1300 m) [low to moderate elevations (70-4300 ft)]
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; NM; NV; OR; TX; Mexico; Central America; South America; Europe; n Africa; s Africa; Pacific Islands (New Zealand); Australia
from FNA
AK; NU; w Europe
Discussion

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.)

Didymodon maximus is rare and apparently disjunctive to the western British Isles (W. C. Steere and G. W. Scotter 1978).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 27, p. 547. Treatment author: Richard H. Zander. FNA vol. 27, p. 558. Treatment author: Richard H. Zander.
Parent taxa Pottiaceae > subfam. Barbuloideae > Didymodon Pottiaceae > subfam. Barbuloideae > Didymodon
Sibling taxa
D. anserinocapitatus, D. asperifolius, D. bistratosus, D. brachyphyllus, D. eckeliae, D. fallax, D. ferrugineus, D. giganteus, D. johansenii, D. leskeoides, D. maschalogena, D. maximus, D. murrayae, D. nevadensis, D. nicholsonii, D. nigrescens, D. norrisii, D. perobtusus, D. revolutus, D. rigidulus, D. subandreaeoides, D. tectorum, D. tophaceus, D. umbrosus, D. vinealis
D. anserinocapitatus, D. asperifolius, D. australasiae, D. bistratosus, D. brachyphyllus, D. eckeliae, D. fallax, D. ferrugineus, D. giganteus, D. johansenii, D. leskeoides, D. maschalogena, D. murrayae, D. nevadensis, D. nicholsonii, D. nigrescens, D. norrisii, D. perobtusus, D. revolutus, D. rigidulus, D. subandreaeoides, D. tectorum, D. tophaceus, D. umbrosus, D. vinealis
Synonyms Tortula australasiae, D. diaphanobasis, Husnotiella torquescens, Trichostomopsis australasiae, Trichostomopsis brevifolia, Trichostomopsis diaphanobasis, Trichostomopsis fayae Barbula maxima
Name authority (Hooker & Greville) R. H. Zander: Phytologia 41: 21. (1978) (Syed & Crundwell) M. O. Hill: J. Bryol. 11: 599. (1982)
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