Flora of North America species comparison

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Neckera menziesii

Neckera complanata

Menzies' metaneckera moss, Menzies' neckera

neckera moss
Habit Plants 4–11(–20) cm. Plants 3.5–4 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) oblong, flat, 2.5–3 × 1.2–1.5 mm;

margins entire proximally, slightly serrulate in apex;

apex rounded-apiculate;

costa double, short;

alar cells oblong to short-quadrate;

basal laminal cells linear to irregularly rectangular, 5–10 × 1–2 µm;

distal medial cells long-rhomboidal, 24–60 × 4–6 µm;

apical cells irregularly rhomboidal, 13–18(–24) × 4–6 µm. Sexual condition dioicous.
Seta

0.2–0.3 cm.

0.7–1.2 cm.
Capsule

immersed.

exserted.

Neckera menziesii

Neckera complanata
Habitat Logs, trunks, shaded rock and cliffs, mixed conifer-hardwood, Abies, Quercus, Sequoia, and Thuja forests Trunks of trees, humus, cliffs, overhanging ledges, shaded vertical sandstone, limestone boulders, wet rock of mixed forests
Elevation low to high elevations (10-2000 m) (low to high elevations (0-6600 ft)) low to moderate elevations (100-500 m) (low to moderate elevations (300-1600 ft))
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CA; ID; MT; NM; OR; SD; UT; WA; AB; BC; YT; Europe; Asia (China, Japan)
from FNA
AL; AR; CO; GA; MA; ME; NC; NY; PA; TN; VA; NB; NL; NS; ON; Europe; Asia (China)
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 complanata is distinguished by the apiculate apex and flat leaves. The basal laminal cells are slightly pitted.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 28, p. 604. FNA vol. 28, p. 605.
Parent taxa Neckeraceae > Neckera Neckeraceae > Neckera
Sibling taxa
N. besseri, N. complanata, N. douglasii, N. pennata
N. besseri, N. douglasii, N. menziesii, N. pennata
Synonyms Metaneckera menziesii Leskea complanata
Name authority Drummond: Musc. Amer., 162. (1828) (Hedwig) Huebener: Muscol. Germ., 576. (1833)
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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