Grimmia reflexidens
Grimmia funalis
grimmia dry rock moss
1–2 cm, central strand absent.
2–5 cm, central strand present.
absent.
ovate to oblong-lanceolate, 0.1–1.15 × 0.3–0.5 mm, keeled, not plicate, margins plane, awns 1–2 mm, very long, smooth to slightly denticulate, flattened basally, long-decurrent, costal transverse section prominent, semi-circular;
basal juxtacostal laminal cells rectangular, sometimes nodulose, thin- to thick-walled;
basal marginal laminal cells rectangular with thickened transverse walls, pellucid in 2–4 rows;
medial laminal cells rounded-quadrate, slightly sinuose, thick-walled;
distal laminal cells yellowish green, 1-stratose with 2-stratose ridges, not bulging, marginal cells 2-stratose, not bulging.
usually spirally arranged when dry, patent when moist, lanceolate, 0.5–1.5 × 0.2–0.5 mm, appressed, of ± uniform length throughout stem, keeled, margins plane or recurved on one side, in female plants awns long and denticulate, in male plants very short to absent, costa weak proximally, projecting on abaxial side;
basal juxtacostal laminal cells elongate, ± sinuose, thick-walled;
basal marginal proximal laminal cells short-rectangular, hyaline;
medial laminal cells short-rectangular, extremely sinuose, thick-walled;
distal laminal cells 2-stratose.
arcuate, 1.5–2 mm.
dioicous, perichaetial leaves enlarged.
dioicous.
absent in northern hemisphere material, emergent to shortly exserted, yellowish brown, oblate, exothecial cells irregularly short-rectangular, thin-walled, stomata absent, annulus of 1 row of quadrate, thick-walled cells, operculum mammillate to rostrate, peristome present, nearly fully-developed, split and perforated only in apex, papillose.]
occasionally present, exserted, yellowish green, obloid, weakly striate, concealed in awns, exothecial cells thin-walled, annulus present, operculum conical to rostellate, peristome teeth orange, split distally, papillose.
mitrate.
Grimmia reflexidens
Grimmia funalis
Of conservation concern.
Previous to its discovery in Iceland, as Grimmia grisea (H. C. Greven 1998), G. reflexidens was known from only the Southern Hemisphere. It had previously been collected east of East Bay, Newfoundland, now the only known locality in North America, but was not recognized as G. reflexidens. The latter is similar to G. asperitricha Dixon & Sainsbury of New Zealand, and the two species have been confused by G. O. K. Sainsbury (1945) as well as by R. Ochyra (1993). J. Muñoz (1998b) synonymized G. reflexidens with G. sessitana. However, the former is readily separated from the latter by: (1) enlarged perichaetial leaves, (2) decurrent awns, (3) non-bulging laminal cells, and (4) dioicous sexual condition. Capsules are unknown from Northern Hemisphere material, but G. reflexidens lacks stomata while they are present for G. sessitana. Although G. reflexidens and G. teretinervis both have decurrent awns they are easily separated by a number of characters: G. reflexidens grows in compact cushions, has long awns, and a semicircular costa; G. teretinervis grows in loose clumps, is hyaline-tipped to short-awned, and has a unique costa that is distally almost completely circular in transverse section.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Grimmia funalis is frequently misidentified because it is extremely variable in height, color, and length of the awns. In optimal conditions, it forms extremely dense, grayish green cushions that break up easily into clusters and straight single plants. A distinctive feature is the string-like appearance of the dried-up shoots, which results from the spiral twisting of the leaves around the stem. However, Greven has also seen populations without such spirally twisted leaves. Under the microscope, the mid leaf areolation with yellowish, short-rectangular, very thick, and sinuose cell walls is characteristic. The formerly recognized taxa G. calvescens, G. imberbis, and G. ryanii are actually male plants of G. funalis. They grow in separate cushions with muticous to short-awned leaves, deviating greatly from the much taller, long-awned female plants. These male plants might be confused with G. elongata, which frequently grows in the same habitat, or with G. caespiticia. However, in G. elongata the basal cells are pellucid, straight, and thin-walled or only slightly incrassate. In G. caespiticia the basal cells are shorter, tending to be quadrate to short-rectangular, and the leaf apex is cucullate.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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