Flora of North America species comparison

short, erect, simple or with a few branches, central strand present, basal rhizoids few.

short, erect, simple except for a short basal antheridial branch.

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.

larger and erect distally, reduced proximally, oblong-ovate to broadly obovate distally;

concave;

apex usually acute or acuminate margins erect, entire to serrate beyond middle;

costa single, ending before the tip to excurrent;

distal and medial laminal cells large, rhombic-hexagonal to rectangular, lax and rather thin-walled, proximal cells oblong-rectangular, differentiated alar cells absent.

terminal, solitary, short to elongate, erect to somewhat curved, smooth or rarely papillose.

elongate, erect to strongly curved or twisted.

autoicous, sometimes polygamous, rarely synoicous or paroicous.

autoicous;

antheridial branches 1–2, basal, perigonial paraphyses clavate with an enlarged inflated cell;

perichaetia apparently absent paraphyses.

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.

exserted, usually inclined to pendent, asymmetric and usually curved, yellow to brown, pyriform, often sulcate or plicate when dry and empty, annulus large and revoluble or not differentiated, exothecial cells oblong-hexagonal to linear, walls incrassate especially so on inner tangential wall, stomata immersed;

peristome double, inserted somewhat below the mouth, teeth well developed, obliquely directed, lance-acuminate, papillose-striate, often strongly trabeculate, frequently appendiculate at the tips and fusing with a latticed disk, endostome segments opposite the teeth, 1/6 or more the length of the teeth, papillose or weakly papillose-striate with a basal membrane and cilia absent.

deciduous or persistent, mitrate to cucullate, smooth, usually long-rostrate and inflated towards the base.

large, cucullate, usually smooth, and often long-rostrate.

spherical or subreniform, strongly ornamented to smooth.

spherical, smooth or papillose to baccate-insulate.

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.

usually oblique to the axis of the capsule, convex to weakly conic, cells in obliquely radial rows.