Flora of North America species comparison

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Neckera menziesii

Neckera besseri

Menzies' metaneckera moss, Menzies' neckera
Habit Plants 4–11(–20) cm. Plants to 2 cm.
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.

leaves (central) ovate to obovate, flat, 1.1–1.3 × 0.4–0.6 mm;

margins entire;

apex obtuse to broadly acute;

costa double, short, rarely single;

alar cells irregularly quadrate;

basal laminal cells irregularly rectangular, 25–37 × 7 µm;

distal medial cells rhombic to rhomboidal, 15–18(–30) × 7–9 µm;

apical cells rhombic, 5–12 × 7 µm. Sporophytes unknown.
Seta

0.2–0.3 cm.

Capsule

immersed.

Neckera menziesii

Neckera besseri
Habitat Logs, trunks, shaded rock and cliffs, mixed conifer-hardwood, Abies, Quercus, Sequoia, and Thuja forests Limestone or sandstone cliffs, soil
Elevation low to high elevations (10-2000 m) (low to high elevations (0-6600 ft)) moderate elevations (300-500 m) (moderate elevations (1000-1600 ft))
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CA; ID; MT; NM; OR; SD; UT; WA; AB; BC; YT; Europe; Asia (China, Japan)
from FNA
AR; KY; MO; NJ; NY; TN; VA; VT; Europe
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.)

Neckera besseri is distinguished from other species of Neckera in the flora area by its small stature and ovate to obovate stem leaves; distribution is limited to eastern North America. K. A. Wagner (1952) and R. R. Ireland (1961) treated this species as Homalia jamesii and H. gracilis, respectively, but He S. (1997) accepted it as Neckera.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 28, p. 604. FNA vol. 28, p. 606.
Parent taxa Neckeraceae > Neckera Neckeraceae > Neckera
Sibling taxa
N. besseri, N. complanata, N. douglasii, N. pennata
N. complanata, N. douglasii, N. menziesii, N. pennata
Synonyms Metaneckera menziesii Homalia besseri
Name authority Drummond: Musc. Amer., 162. (1828) (Lobarzewski) Juratzka: Verh. K. K. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien 10: 368. (1860)
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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