Flora of North America species comparison

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Neckera menziesii

Neckera

Menzies' metaneckera moss, Menzies' neckera

neckera moss
Habit Plants 4–11(–20) cm. Plants medium-sized to large, shelf-forming, light to dark green or sometimes yellowish, usually shiny.
Stem(s)

leaves (central) oblong to oblong-ligulate, undulate, 3–6 × (1–)2.2–2.5 mm;

margins slightly serrate to serrulate distally;

apex obtuse to broadly acute;

costa single, 3/4 leaf length;

alar cells quadrate;

basal laminal cells quadrate to short-rectangular, 30–54 × 5–6 µm;

distal medial cells linear, 27–36 × 3–5 µm;

apical cells rhomboidal, (8–)12–18 × 5–6 µm. Sexual condition dioicous.

creeping, irregularly branched;

paraphyllia present or absent.
Seta

0.2–0.3 cm.

(0.1–)0.2–1.2 cm.
Sexual condition

autoicous or dioicous;

perichaetial inner leaves oblong, oblong-lanceolate, or ovate-subulate.
Capsule

immersed.

cylindric, oblong, or globose;

exostome teeth lanceolate, smooth to densely papillose, somewhat cross striate basally;

endostome basal membrane low to high, segments smooth to densely papillose.
Spores

12–39 µm.
Secondary

stem and branch leaves (central) erect, erect-spreading, or spreading, sometimes secund, ovate, obovate, oblong, oblong-ligulate, or oblong-lanceolate, asymmetric, flat to strongly undulate;

margins entire to serrate, teeth recurved;

apex obtuse to acuminate;

costa double and short, sometimes single or ecostate;

basal laminal cells linear to rectangular, walls pitted or not.

Neckera menziesii

Neckera
Habitat Logs, trunks, shaded rock and cliffs, mixed conifer-hardwood, Abies, Quercus, Sequoia, and Thuja forests
Elevation low to high elevations (10-2000 m) (low to high elevations (0-6600 ft))
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CA; ID; MT; NM; OR; SD; UT; WA; AB; BC; YT; Europe; Asia (China, Japan)
North America; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies; Europe; Asia; Pacific Islands; Australia
Discussion

Neckera menziesii can be distinguished from other dioicous species by the single costa that extends 3/4 of the leaf length and the slightly serrate leaf margin of straight teeth. In addition, the seta is very short, and the capsule immersed. The abundant paraphyllia and single costa were used by W. C. Steere (1941, 1967) to segregate N. menziesii into the genus Metaneckera. Those characters are common in other Neckera species from South and Central America and Asia and therefore within the limits of the genus. The stem leaf base is slightly auriculate; the margins are recurved basally; and the distal medial cell walls are pitted.

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

Species 73 (5 in the flora).

Neckera is distinguished by its asymmetric and dimorphic leaves, that is, central versus lateral leaves. The central leaves are inserted dorsally or ventrally and the costa is almost aligned with the central stem axis; in lateral leaves the insertion line surrounds the stem, and thus costa alignment is displaced toward one side. Lateral leaves can be distinguished as dorsal or ventral; if the leaf is inserted dorsally (with costa on the dorsal side), then there will be a small fold on the ventral side. The secondary stems are perpendicular to pendent, and unbranched, irregularly branched, or pinnate. The primary stem leaves are erect to erect-spreading, triangular, lanceolate, broadly ovate, or obovate, with margins recurved to plane basally and entire to slightly serrate; the apex is acute, narrowly acute, or sometimes long-acuminate; and the costa is absent, single, or double and short. The alar cells are undifferentiated to differentiated and short-quadrate; the basal laminal cells are usually rectangular; and the distal medial cells are fusiform to linear. The inner perichaetial leaves have margins that are entire to slightly serrate at the abruptly to gradually acute apices, costae to mid leaf or absent, and fusiform to linear distal medial laminal cells. The capsules are erect; the exostome teeth are sometimes perforate.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaves flat
→ 2
1. Leaves undulate
→ 3
2. Plants 3.5-4 cm; central stem leaves oblong; apices rounded-apiculate.
N. complanata
2. Plants to 2 cm; central stem leaves ovate to obovate; apices obtuse to broadly acute.
N. besseri
3. Capsules exserted; leaf margins serrate to dentate at apex.
N. douglasii
3. Capsules immersed; leaf margins slightly serrate to serrulate at apex
→ 4
4. Paraphyllia few to absent; central stem leaves oblong-ovate; ecostate or costae double, short; widespread.
N. pennata
4. Paraphyllia many; central stem leaves oblong to oblong-ligulate; costae single, 3/4 leaf length; w United States, Canada.
N. menziesii
Source FNA vol. 28, p. 604. FNA vol. 28, p. 603. Author: Inés Sastre-De Jesús.
Parent taxa Neckeraceae > Neckera Neckeraceae
Sibling taxa
N. besseri, N. complanata, N. douglasii, N. pennata
Subordinate taxa
N. besseri, N. complanata, N. douglasii, N. menziesii, N. pennata
Synonyms Metaneckera menziesii
Name authority Drummond: Musc. Amer., 162. (1828) Hedwig: Sp. Musc. Frond., 200, plate 46, figs. 10 – 15: plates 47, 48. (1801)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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