Flora of North America species comparison

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Octoblepharum albidum

octoblepharum moss
Habit Plants glossy, glaucous-green to white, often with pink tinge; densely cespitose; axillary hairs 3 per axil, 5-celled.
Leaves

spreading-recurved, fleshy, fragile when dry, 4–5 mm, apiculate, older leaves sometimes with rhizoids on tips.
Seta

yellow, 2–5 mm.
Capsule

brownish, 1–1.5 mm, ovoid-cylindric, slightly asymmetric, with stomata at base;

operculum 0.8 mm;

peristome of 8 blunt triangular pairs of teeth, teeth smooth or faintly striate, 200 µm tall, each composed of one interior and one exterior layer of intact, empty, cell-like plates;

prostome present.
Calyptra

1.5–1.9 mm.
Spores

finely papillose, 17–24 µm.
Specialized

asexual reproduction rare, by gemmae.

Octoblepharum albidum
Phenology Capsules mature throughout the year but most common Sep–Apr.
Habitat Hammocks and open forests, primarily on stems and bases of Quercus virginiana and Sabal palmetto, and rotted logs, occasionally terrestrial on soil and humus
Elevation low elevations (0-30 m) (low elevations (0-100 ft))
Distribution
from FNA
FL; LA; TX; pantropical
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Discussion

Octoblepharum albidum is a weedy and conspicuous moss that is distributed worldwide in the tropics. It grows especially on palms, often forming deep soft cushions. The flat, glossy, ligulate, spreading-recurved leaves distinguish it easily in the field from the superficially similar Leucobryum, which has erect or spreading, pointed, subtubulose leaves.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 27, p. 664.
Parent taxa Leucophanaceae > Octoblepharum
Name authority Hedwig: Sp. Musc. Frond., 50. (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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