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hookeria moss, shining clear-moss, shining hookeria

Habit Plants medium-sized to large, in creeping mats or patches.
Stems

green, loosely complanate-foliate;

hyalodermis and sclerodermis absent, central strand present.

Leaves

with obtuse apex;

laminal cells with scattered pairs of smaller cells, one relatively smaller and quadrate, resembling rhizoid initials at apex;

marginal cells width equal to medial cells.

broad, dorsal leaves often broader, more symmetric than lateral leaves;

margins plane, entire, unbordered;

apex rounded-obtuse to sharply or broadly acute, flat; ecostate;

laminal cells large, lax, smooth, uniform across insertion and base or somewhat shorter than medial.

Seta

red to reddish or blackish, elongate, smooth.

Sexual condition

autoicous or sometimes dioicous;

perigonia on stem, gemmate.

Capsule

strongly contracted below mouth when dry.

suberect to pendulous, smooth;

exothecial cells strongly collenchymatous;

annulus distinct;

peristome dark red, diplolepidous;

exostome unfurrowed, with zigzag median line;

endostome basal membrane high, segments extending barely beyond exostome teeth, ± perforate, cilia rudimentary or absent.

Calyptra

somewhat lobed at base, multistratose at middle, smooth, naked.

Specialized

asexual reproduction by filaments among apical leaf rhizoids, filaments unbranched, 1-seriate, subpapillose.

Hookeria lucens

Hookeriaceae

Phenology Capsules mature late fall–spring.
Habitat Coastal islands and adjacent mainland, ravines, pools near rivers, swampy lake margins, raised bogs in peaty muck, wet evergreen woods of Alnus, Chamaecyparis, Tsuga, forests of Sequoia sempervirens, coastal Sitka spruce forests, old logs in heathlands
Elevation low to moderate elevations (0-500 m) (low to moderate elevations (0-1600 ft))
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CA; ID; OR; WA; BC; Europe; w Asia; Atlantic Islands
[WildflowerSearch map]
Nearly worldwide; tropical and temperate regions
Discussion

A. J. E. Smith (2004) reported that in England the capsules of Hookeria lucens mature in late fall to spring; A. J. Grout (1934b) reported that sporulation occurred fall to early winter. Also, in England, 1-seriate chlorophyllous caducous filaments are occasionally produced from small cells in the distal portion of the leaf (Smith), but such were not seen in specimens examined for the flora.

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

Genera 2, species ca. 8 (1 genus, 2 species in the flora).

Hookeriaceae, once consisting of many genera (W. H. Welch 1966, 1976), is currently recognized as comprising two genera (B. Goffinet et al. 2008; W. Frey 2009+): Crossomitrium Müller Hal., with six species (B. H. Allen 1990), and Hookeria with ten species, only two of which are well known (M. R. Crosby et al., unpubl.). The absolute absence of a costa in the leaves is a major character separating this family from those closely related.

The two species of Hookeria in the flora area have laminal cells large enough to observe with a hand lens, lax and broadly oblong-hexagonal or rhomboidal. Lepidopilum (Bridel) Bridel, as L. polytrichoides (Hedwig) Bridel, previously recognized in Hookeriaceae but now in Pilotrichaceae, has been reported by W. H. Welch (1962) and W. D. Reese (1984) from a single collection near Pensacola, Florida. This species has not been found in that area, despite extensive sampling. Reese suggested that it was collected elsewhere and mislabeled.

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

Source FNA vol. 28, p. 250. FNA vol. 28, p. 248. Author: Patricia M. Eckel.
Parent taxa Hookeriaceae > Hookeria
Sibling taxa
H. acutifolia
Subordinate taxa
Synonyms Hypnum lucens
Name authority (Hedwig) Smith: Trans. Linn. Soc. London 9: 275. (1808) Schimper
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