Funaria hygrometrica
Funariaceae
bonfire moss, common cord-moss, funaria moss
short, erect, simple or with a few branches, central strand present, basal rhizoids few.
smaller proximally, distal leaves 2–4 mm, deeply concave, oblong-ovate to broadly obovate distally, acute to apiculate or short-acuminate, entire or weakly serrulate distally;
costa subpercurrent to short-excurrent;
distal laminal cells thin-walled and inflated, hexagonal or oblong-hexagonal becoming much more oblong proximally.
usually larger and more crowded distally, often comose, reduced proximally, usually contorted when dry, spreading when wet, broadly elliptic to obovate, usually concave, margins plane to somewhat incurved, entire to serrate, sometimes limbate, apex acute to acuminate, rarely somewhat blunt, costa single, percurrent to excurrent;
distal and median cells usually irregular-rhombic to hexagonal or rectangular, smooth and rather thin-walled, often lax, weakly chlorophyllose, proximal cells usually longer, oblong to rectangular, sometimes weakly inflated at proximal angles, differentiated alar cells absent.
usually (12–)20–45(–80) mm, slender and flexuose, usually hygroscopic.
terminal, solitary, short to elongate, erect to somewhat curved, smooth or rarely papillose.
autoicous, sometimes polygamous, rarely synoicous or paroicous.
2–3.5 mm, pyriform, asymmetric, curved to straight, horizontal to pendent or merely inclined or nearly erect, becoming sulcate when dry below the strongly oblique mouth;
annulus revoluble, operculum slightly convex;
peristome brown, papillose-striate proximally and papillose distally, strongly trabeculate, becoming appendiculate distally, forming a lattice by fusion of the tips;
endostome segments lanceolate about 2/3 as long as the teeth, yellowish, finely papillose-striate.
stegocarpous or cleistocarpous, immersed to exserted, globose or pyriform to cupulate, sometimes flaring, symmetric and nearly smooth to asymmetric and striate when dry, usually with a neck;
exothecial cells thick- to thin-walled;
stomata restricted to neck, consisting of a slit in a rounded guard cell, superficial or immersed, annulus present or absent, revoluble, revoluble in fragments, or not;
operculum present or absent, flat, conic-rounded, to rostrate;
peristome double, single, rudimentary, or absent, exostome teeth 16, erect to incurved, papillose-striolate or striate, trabeculate on adaxial surface, endostome segments 16 and opposite the exostome teeth, cilia absent, represented only by the exostome when single.
cucullate, smooth.
deciduous or persistent, mitrate to cucullate, smooth, usually long-rostrate and inflated towards the base.
mostly 12–21 µm, finely papillose.
spherical or subreniform, strongly ornamented to smooth.
asexual reproduction absent.
terminal on short basal branches, bud-like, paraphyses yellowish and club-shaped.
terminal, paraphyses usually absent and filiform when present, perichaetial leaves often somewhat enlarged.
Funaria hygrometrica
Funariaceae
Varieties ca. 20 (2 in the flora).
Funaria hygrometrica is one of the most common, weedy, and widely distributed mosses in the world; its distribution closely parallels that of Bryum argenteum. It is widely illustrated in textbooks to demonstrate the life cycle of a typical moss, possibly because of the abundant conspicuous sporophytes produced and its frequent presence in greenhouses. However, the peristome with opposite, instead of alternate, teeth in the two peristome rows is clearly atypical among the majority of mosses. Most of the varieties that have been described probably do not merit recognition because of the morphological plasticity of the species in response to environmental conditions.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Genera ca. 13, species ca. 300 (6 genera, 29 species in the flora).
The Funariaceae is characterized by broad leaves, large, pale laminal cells, opposite peristomes, and the distinctive stomata. The majority of species are found in disturbed or open sites on bare soil. Many of the species are annuals or biennials, and some may be perennials. When sterile, only a few species have distinctive vegetative features that allow positive identification to genus or species level. Fortunately most are usually fertile and sporophytes are common, although seasonal.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Capsule 2-3.5 mm, horizontal to pendent, curved, capsule neck less tapered, mouth of capsule narrow | var. hygrometrica |
1. Capsule 2-3 mm, inclined to nearly erect, straight or weakly curved, capsule narrowly tapered to a long slender neck, mouth of capsule wide. | var. calvescens |
1. Calyptra large and four-angled, completely enclosing the mature capsule. | Pyramidula |
1. Calyptra smaller than mature capsule, not angled or persistent | → 2 |
2. Capsules immersed | → 3 |
2. Capsules emergent or long-exserted | → 5 |
3. Capsules rupturing irregularly; exothecial cells delicate, thin-walled. | Physcomitrella |
3. Capsules operculate; exothecial cells firm, thick-walled or collenchymatous | → 4 |
4. Exothecial cells collenchymatous; spores spiculose-papillose. | Aphanorrhegma |
4. Exothecial cells not collenchymatous; spores papillose. | Physcomitrium |
5. Capsules inclined and asymmetric; peristome double, endostome well developed to somewhat rudimentary. | Funaria |
5. Capsules erect and more or less symmetric; peristome either single, rudimentary, or absent | → 6 |
6. Capsules sub-cylindric to narrowly pyriform; most exothecial cells oblong to oblong-linear, rarely isodiametric; calyptra cucullate. | Entosthodon |
6. Capsules urn-shaped, broadly pyriform, to cupulate; operculum rostrate; most exothecial cells irregularly hexagonal, ± isodiametric; calyptra mitrate to irregularly mitrate, sometimes appearing cucullate. | Physcomitrium |
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