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grimmia dry rock moss

Habit Plants in compact cushions, yellow-green to dark olivaceous. Plants in blackish green tufts.
Stems

1–3 cm, central strand strong.

1–2.5 cm, central strand present.

Gemmae

rare, in clusters, short-stalked, in distal leaf axils.

Leaves

ovate-lanceolate, 1.5–3 × 0.6–0.7 mm, keeled, one margin recurved proximally, not sheathing, awn 0.5–1.5 mm, costal transverse section prominent, reniform;

basal juxtacostal laminal cells long-rectangular to linear, sinuose, thick-walled;

basal marginal laminal cells short-rectangular, straight, with thick transverse and thin lateral walls, hyaline;

medial laminal cells short-rectangular, sinuose, thick-walled;

distal laminal cells 2-stratose, not bulging, marginal cells 2-stratose, not bulging.

loosely appressed, twisted when dry, erectopatent when moist, ovate-lanceolate, tapering to acute apex, 2–3 × 0.6–0.8 mm, keeled, margins recurved in mid leaf on both sides, awns short, denticulate, in perichaetial leaves stout and often decurrent, costa channeled distally, projecting at abaxial side, angled to bluntly winged;

basal juxtacostal laminal cells short- to long-rectangular, yellowish, nodulose, thick-walled;

basal marginal laminal cells short-rectangular with thickened transverse walls;

medial laminal cells quadrate to short-rectangular, sinuose, thick-walled;

distal laminal cells 1-stratose with 2-stratose ridges, margins 2-stratose.

Seta

straight, (1–)2–4 mm.

arcuate, 2–3 mm.

Sexual condition

cladautoicous, perichaetial leaves not enlarged.

dioicous.

Capsule

usually present, (emergent to) exserted, yellow, oblong-ovoid to cylindric, exothecial cells short- to long-rectangular, thin-walled, stomata present in 2–3 rows, annulus of 2 rows of rectangular, thick-walled cells, operculum long-rostrate, peristome present, fully-developed, split and perforate in distal half.

occasionally present, exserted, globose, shiny, brown, smooth to slightly striate, exothecial cells thin-walled, annulus present, operculum rostrate, peristome teeth purple, fully-developed or slightly split distally, papillose.

Calyptra

mitrate.

Grimmia longirostris

Grimmia muehlenbeckii

Habitat Exposed, dry, acidic granite and quartzite Shaded acidic rock, often along lakes
Elevation low to high eleavations (100-3100 m) [low to high eleavations (300-10200 ft)] moderate to high elevations (200-2000 m) [moderate to high elevations (700-6600 ft)]
Distribution
from FNA
AK; AZ; CA; CO; ID; ME; MN; MT; NC; NH; NM; NV; OK; OR; SD; TX; UT; VT; WA; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; NU; ON; QC; SK; YT; Mexico; South America; Africa; Pacific Islands; Greenland; Eurasia; Central America (Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras); Australia
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
ID; MA; ME; MI; MN; NH; OR; WA; WI; BC; NF; ON; Europe; e Asia (Japan); Africa (South Africa)
Discussion

Grimmia longirostris is one of the most common species of the genus. It is most common in the eastern ranges of the Rocky Mountains, ranging from western Texas through the Canadian Rockies, and throughout much of Alaska. It is widely distributed in the Canadian sub-Arctic and Arctic, and is known from Greenland. With the exception of disjunct sites in Oklahoma and North Carolina, it is absent in the American Great Plains and Southeast. These latter areas are largely composed of calcareous rocks, a substrate avoided by G. longirostris. It is rare in coastal areas, becoming more common inland.

As Grimmia affinis, G. longirostris has commonly been placed as a subspecies of G. ovalis. Despite G. Sayre’s (1951) resolution of the differences between these taxa, a large proportion of specimens in major herbaria in North America that are named G. ovalis are actually G. longirostris. However, G. ovalis is dioicous and has leaves with plane margins that are broadly concave distally, usually with a distinct ovate base and well-defined shoulders. In contrast, G. longirostris is autoicous, and has leaves with one recurved margin, that are narrowly keeled distally, with a poorly defined basal region, often without a distinct shoulder. These characters clearly separate these two taxa at the specific level. Hastings puts G. longirostris into a group that also includes G. arizonae and G. pilifera. Grimmia longirostris is separated from those two species by non-sheathing leaf bases, usually long-exserted capsules, and cladautiocous sexuality. Grimmia longirostris is further separated from G. pilifera by having a stem with a distinct central strand and a thin epidermis, a costal transverse section that is typically reniform, and leaves that are recurved on only one margin. Rare specimens of G. longirostris with immersed capsules in the American Southwest may be almost indistinguishable from G. arizonae. In extremely xeric environments, specimens become friable and break into individual strands, making determination of the cladautiocous sexuality impossible. In these circumstances identification will always be uncertain. However, the leaves of G. longirostris are not sheathing; they are only loosely attached to the stem and usually can be peeled off intact. In contrast, the leaves of G. arizonae are sheathing and strongly attached to the stem; they often break at the base when trying to remove them. The costal transverse sections of G. longirostris are characteristically reniform (J. Muñoz 1998) while those of G. arizonae are usually semicircular. However, gradations from semicircular to reniform are not uncommon.

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

Grimmia muehlenbeckii is closely related to G. trichophylla, and in the past it was frequently regarded as a subspecies or variety of that taxon. H. Deguchi (1978) treated it as a distinct species, followed by A. J. E. Smith (1992). Greven agrees with those treatments. He has seen many specimens that are remarkably uniform and easy to distinguish from G. trichophylla by their small, globose, shiny, dark brown capsules with purple, entire peristome teeth. In contrast, the capsules in G. trichophylla are oblong-ovoid, larger and longer than in G. muehlenbeckii, dull, yellowish brown, and the peristome teeth are orange and cleft. The gametophyte differs from that of G. trichophylla by its blackish green tufts, angled costa with blunt wings protruding on the abaxial side, and ovate-lanceolate leaves with stout, denticulate awns that are often decurrent.

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

Source FNA vol. 27, p. 239. FNA vol. 27, p. 254.
Parent taxa Grimmiaceae > subfam. Grimmioideae > Grimmia > subg. Guembelia Grimmiaceae > subfam. Grimmioideae > Grimmia > subg. Rhabdogrimmia
Sibling taxa
G. alpestris, G. americana, G. anodon, G. anomala, G. arizonae, G. atrata, G. attenuata, G. brittoniae, G. caespiticia, G. crinitoleucophaea, G. donniana, G. elatior, G. elongata, G. funalis, G. hamulosa, G. hartmanii, G. incurva, G. laevigata, G. leibergii, G. lesherae, G. lisae, G. mariniana, G. mollis, G. montana, G. moxleyi, G. muehlenbeckii, G. nevadensis, G. olneyi, G. orbicularis, G. ovalis, G. pilifera, G. plagiopodia, G. pulvinata, G. ramondii, G. reflexidens, G. serrana, G. sessitana, G. shastae, G. teretinervis, G. torquata, G. trichophylla, G. unicolor
G. alpestris, G. americana, G. anodon, G. anomala, G. arizonae, G. atrata, G. attenuata, G. brittoniae, G. caespiticia, G. crinitoleucophaea, G. donniana, G. elatior, G. elongata, G. funalis, G. hamulosa, G. hartmanii, G. incurva, G. laevigata, G. leibergii, G. lesherae, G. lisae, G. longirostris, G. mariniana, G. mollis, G. montana, G. moxleyi, G. nevadensis, G. olneyi, G. orbicularis, G. ovalis, G. pilifera, G. plagiopodia, G. pulvinata, G. ramondii, G. reflexidens, G. serrana, G. sessitana, G. shastae, G. teretinervis, G. torquata, G. trichophylla, G. unicolor
Synonyms G. affinis, G. arctophila subsp. labradorica, G. catalinensis, G. catalinensis var. mutica, G. elata, G. ortholoma, G. ovalis var. affinis, G. ovata var. affinis, G. ovateoformis G. hermannii, G. trichophylla var. tenuis
Name authority Hooker: Musci Exot. 1: plate 62. (1818) Schimper: Syn. Musc. Eur., 212. (1860)
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