Flora of North America species comparison

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Neckera menziesii

Neckera pennata

Menzies' metaneckera moss, Menzies' neckera

feathered neckera, neckera moss
Habit Plants 4–11(–20) cm. Plants 5–11 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-ovate, undulate, 2–3(–5) × 1.2–1.5 mm;

margins serrulate to entire proximally, serrulate at apex;

apex acute to broadly acute; ecostate or costa double, short;

alar cells irregularly short-quadrate;

basal laminal cells rectangular, 50–60 × 7–10 µm;

distal medial cells oblong-linear, (23–)42–54 × 2–4 µm;

apical cells oblong-rhombic, (15–)30–36 × (2–)3–5 µm. Sexual condition autoicous.
Seta

0.2–0.3 cm.

0.1 cm.
Capsule

immersed.

immersed.

Neckera menziesii

Neckera pennata
Habitat Logs, trunks, shaded rock and cliffs, mixed conifer-hardwood, Abies, Quercus, Sequoia, and Thuja forests Base and trunks of trees, boulders, rock cliffs of conifer and deciduous forests to montane subalpine ecotones
Elevation low to high elevations (10-2000 m) (low to high elevations (0-6600 ft)) moderate to high elevations (300-2600 m) (moderate to high elevations (1000-8500 ft))
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CA; ID; MT; NM; OR; SD; UT; WA; AB; BC; YT; Europe; Asia (China, Japan)
from FNA
AK; AZ; CO; CT; IA; IL; IN; KY; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; NC; NH; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; BC; NB; NL; NS; NT; ON; QC; YT; Pacific Islands (New Zealand); Greenland; Asia; Europe; Australia
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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 pennata is recognized by its immersed sporophytes, undulate, acute to broadly acute leaves, and paraphyllia absent or scarce. The leaves have very few alar cells.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 28, p. 604. FNA vol. 28, p. 604.
Parent taxa Neckeraceae > Neckera Neckeraceae > Neckera
Sibling taxa
N. besseri, N. complanata, N. douglasii, N. pennata
N. besseri, N. complanata, N. douglasii, N. menziesii
Synonyms Metaneckera menziesii N. oligocarpa
Name authority Drummond: Musc. Amer., 162. (1828) Hedwig: Sp. Musc. Frond., 200. (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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