Fissidens curvatus |
Fissidens asplenioides |
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asplenium fissidens moss |
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Habit | Plants 1.2–10 × 1–2.5 mm. | Plants to 250 × 4 mm. |
Stem | unbranched and branched; axillary hyaline nodules present; central strand weak or absent. |
unbranched and sparingly branched; axillary hyaline nodules weak; central strand present. |
Leaves | as many as 25 pairs, narrowly lanceolate to ovate–lanceolate, acute to sharply acute to short acuminate, to 1.9 × 0.3; dorsal lamina narrowed proximally, ending before or at insertion, infrequently ± decurrent; vaginant laminae 1/2–4/5 leaf length, ± equal, minor lamina ending on or near margin; margin entire, limbate on all laminae, limbidium confluent at apex or ending shortly before apex, extending to base of dorsal lamina, limbidial cells 2–3-stratose; costa percurrent to excurrent, bryoides-type; laminal cells 1-stratose, distinct, smooth, ± bulging, firm-walled, elongate, 7–22 × 4–13 µm, increasing in size toward proximal part of leaf. |
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. |
Seta | to 12 mm. |
to 6 mm. |
Sexual condition | rhizoautoicous; perigonia gemmiform, proximal to infertile and fertile stems. |
dioicous; perigonia and perichaetia on elongate stems; naked archegonia at times in axils of distal leaves. |
Capsule | theca exserted, ± erect, radially symmetric to inclined, arcuate, bilaterally symmetic, 0.35–1.25 mm; peristome bryoides-type; operculum 0.25–0.3 µm. |
theca ± erect, radially symmetric to slightly arcuate, bilaterally symmetric, to 1.5 mm; peristome taxifolius-type; operculum ± as long as theca. |
Calyptra | cucullate, smooth, 0.5 mm. |
cucullate, smooth, 1–1.7 µm. |
Spores | 11–18 µm. |
7.5–12 µm. |
Sporophytes | 1 per perichaetium. |
1–2 per perichaetium, orange-red. |
Fissidens curvatus |
Fissidens asplenioides |
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Habitat | Bare, shaded soil, often among grasses in open Quercus forests and around bases of coastal shrubs | Sandstone ledges and crevices in moist ravines and grottoes, usually along streams and waterfalls |
Distribution |
CA; Mexico; South America; West Indies; Europe; Asia; Africa; Pacific Islands (New Caledonia, New Zealand); Australia |
AL; GA; KY; LA; MS; NC; SC; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies; Asia; Africa; Atlantic Islands (Macaronesia); Pacific Islands (New Zealand); Australia |
Discussion | Fissidens curvatus is distinguished by its delicate dimorphic stems, usually long excurrent costa, limbidium confluent at leaf apex, and slightly elongate laminal cells. The theca is usually arcuate but can also be erect. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 347. | FNA vol. 27, p. 337. |
Parent taxa | Fissidentaceae > Fissidens | Fissidentaceae > Fissidens |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | F. milobakeri | |
Name authority | Hornschuch: Linnaea 15: 148. (1841) | Hedwig: Sp. Musc. Frond., 156. (1801) |
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