Fissidens asplenioides |
Fissidens submarginatus |
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asplenium fissidens moss |
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Habit | Plants to 250 × 4 mm. | Plants to 5 × 2 mm. |
Stem | unbranched and sparingly branched; axillary hyaline nodules weak; central strand present. |
unbranched and branched; axillary hyaline nodules absent; central strand weak. |
Leaves | in as many as 25 pairs, often undulate, mostly lingulate, rounded to obtuse to broadly acute, sometimes apiculate, to 4 × 0.5 mm; dorsal lamina narrowed proximally, ending before or at insertion, not decurrent; vaginant laminae 1/2–3/4 the leaf length, unequal, minor lamina of most leaves rounded and free distally, or narrowed distally and ending on or near costa; margin ± entire to crenulate-serrulate, sometimes unevenly so distally, elimbate except for a weak limbidium in the proximal parts of vaginant laminae, limbidial cells 1-stratose; costa ending several cells before apex, oblongifolius-type, distal part of leaf in transverse section showing enlarged cells arranged in a single row; laminal cells of dorsal and ventral laminae 1-stratose, distinct, smooth, lenticularly thickened but appearing bulging, firm-walled, irregularly hexagonal, 7–12 µm long; juxtacostal and interior proximal cells of vaginant laminae 1-stratose, smooth, plane, quadrate to ± oblong, larger; medial marginal cells of vaginant laminae ± elongate, oriented obliquely. |
as many as 10 pairs, lanceolate to lingulate, acute to obtuse-apiculate, to 1.3 × 0.4 mm; dorsal lamina narrowed abruptly proximally, ending at insertion, not decurrent; vaginant laminae ± 1/2 leaf length, equal; margin serrulate, limbate and entire on complete length of vaginant laminae and often on proximal portion of adjacent ventral laminae of all leaves except smallest, limbidial cells 1-stratose; costa percurrent to ending 2–3 cells before apex, bryoides-type; laminal cells 1-stratose, distinct, mammillose, firm-walled, quadrate to hexagonal, 7–9 µm. Sexual condition rhizautoicous; perigonia gemmiform, proximal to fertile and infertile stems. |
Seta | to 6 mm. |
to 3.5 mm. |
Sexual condition | dioicous; perigonia and perichaetia on elongate stems; naked archegonia at times in axils of distal leaves. |
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Capsule | theca ± erect, radially symmetric to slightly arcuate, bilaterally symmetric, to 1.5 mm; peristome taxifolius-type; operculum ± as long as theca. |
theca exserted, erect, radially symmetric, to 0.6 mm; peristome scariosus-type; operculum to 9.4 mm. |
Calyptra | cucullate, smooth, 1–1.7 µm. Spores 7.5–12 µm. |
cucullate, smooth, to 0.5 mm. |
Spores | 11–23 µm. |
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Sporophytes | 1–2 per perichaetium, orange-red. |
1 per perichaetium. |
Fissidens asplenioides |
Fissidens submarginatus |
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Habitat | Sandstone ledges and crevices in moist ravines and grottoes, usually along streams and waterfalls | Moist, disturbed soil and around bases of trees, mostly in cypress swamps |
Distribution |
AL; GA; KY; LA; MS; NC; SC; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies; Asia; Africa; Atlantic Islands (Macaronesia); Pacific Islands (New Zealand); Australia |
LA; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies; Africa |
Discussion | Fissidens asplenioides, usually a robust species, is recognized by leaves typically curled tightly inward from the tips when dry, a minor lamina that in most leaves is rounded distally and attached more or less only along costa, lenticularly thickened dorsal and ventral laminal cells, elongate medial marginal cells of the vaginant laminae oriented obliquely, and oblongifolius-type costa which in the distal part of the leaf in transverse section shows a single row of enlarged cells. The oblongifolius-type costa, found in F. asplenioides and F. santa-clarensis, is unique to sect. Amblyothallia of subg. Pachyfissidens (R. A. Pursell and M. A. Bruggeman-Nannenga 2004). Subterranean, multicellular, irregularly globose, rhizoidal gemmae have been reported in Macaronesian specimens of F. asplenioides. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Fissidens submarginatus is most likely to be confused with F. leptophyllus. Both species have mammillose laminal cells, serrulate leaf margin, and limbidium of 1-stratose cells restricted essentially to vaginant laminae. The limbidium is the best character by which these two species are separated. In F. submarginatus the limbidium consistently extends the entire length of the vaginant laminae of most or all leaves, and on occasion extends a short distance onto the proximal part of the adjacent ventral lamina. In contrast, the limbidium in F. leptophyllus consistently extends no more than 1/2 the length of the vaginant laminae of most leaves. Minor differences can also be found in the shape of the leaf apex (usually apiculate vs. not apiculate), costa length (ending 2–3 cells before the leaf apex vs. ending 2–6 cells before the leaf apex), and cell size (7–9 µm versus 7–12 µm). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 337. | FNA vol. 27, p. 352. |
Parent taxa | Fissidentaceae > Fissidens | Fissidentaceae > Fissidens |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | F. kochii | |
Name authority | Hedwig: Sp. Musc. Frond., 156. (1801) | Bruch: Flora 29: 133. (1846) |
Web links |