Plagiomnium cuspidatum
Plagiomnium ciliare
baby tooth moss, tooth plagiomnium moss, woods leafy moss, woodsy mnium
plagiomnium moss, saber tooth moss
dark green or yellow-green, contorted when dry, flat when moist, obovate, ± diamond-shaped or occasionally elliptic, 3–5 mm;
base broadly long-decurrent;
margins toothed from about mid leaf to apex, teeth sharp, of 1 (or 2) cells;
apex acute or acuminate, long-cuspidate, cusp sometimes toothed;
costa percurrent or excurrent;
medial laminal cells short-elongate or ± isodiametric, 20–30(–40) µm, slightly smaller near margins, occasionally in longitudinal rows, rarely in diagonal rows, strongly collenchymatous, walls not pitted;
marginal cells linear, in 2–4(–5) rows.
green or yellow-green, crisped and contorted when dry, flat when moist, ovate, elliptic, oblong-elliptic, or rarely obovate, (3–)4–6(–10) mm;
base narrowly long-decurrent;
margins toothed to near base, smaller leaves sometimes nearly entire, teeth blunt or less commonly sharp, of (1–)2–3(–4) cells;
apex rounded, occasionally truncate or obtuse, rarely retuse, cuspidate or apiculate, cusp occasionally toothed;
costa percurrent, excurrent, or rarely subpercurrent;
medial laminal cells elongate, rarely ± isodiametric (especially near margins), 45–85 µm, less than 1/2 size near margins, in ± longitudinal, occasionally diagonal rows, collenchymatous, sometimes weakly, walls pitted, pits sometimes indistinct or absent;
marginal cells linear, sometimes short-linear or rhomboidal, in (2–)3–4 rows.
single, yellow, brown, or sometimes reddish, 2–3 cm.
1–3, yellowish or brownish green, 2–4 cm.
synoicous.
dioicous.
pendent, ovoid or cylindric, 2–3.5 mm, neck not distinct;
operculum conic-apiculate.
pendent, cylindric, 3–4.5 mm, neck not distinct;
operculum conic-apiculate.
18–31 µm.
18–24 µm.
stems 1–2(–3.5) cm, not dendroid;
sterile stems to 7 cm.
stems 2–5(–9) cm, not dendroid;
sterile stems to 10 cm.
Plagiomnium cuspidatum
Plagiomnium ciliare
Plagiomnium cuspidatum, P. drummondii, and P. floridanum are the only North American species of the genus that consistently have well-developed, sharp teeth restricted to the distal portions of the leaf margins. Plagiomnium ellipticum and P. rostratum often have leaves that are toothed only distally, but the teeth are small and mostly blunt, and the leaves are never obovate. Plagiomnium cuspidatum has larger leaves and larger, less collenchymatous laminal cells than P. drummondii and P. floridanum. The thinner cell walls and larger cells of P. drummondii give it a distinctly more translucent aspect than P. cuspidatum and P. floridanum.
In addition to the morphological characters in the key, Plagiomnium cuspidatum is separated from the closely allied P. floridanum by sexual condition, ploidy level, and ecology (R. Wyatt and I. J. Odrzykoski 2012). Plagiomnium cuspidatum is synoicous and diploid, with a chromosome count of n = 12, whereas P. floridanum is dioicous and haploid, with a chromosome count of n = 6. Although Plagiomnium cuspidatum exhibits a relatively broad ecological amplitude, P. floridanum shows a preference for soils associated with limestone.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Populations of Plagiomnium ciliare having leaves with poorly developed marginal teeth appear to be fairly common and are often difficult to identify. When well developed, the teeth are straight-sided, fingerlike, and sometimes perpendicular to the margins. The usually long-decurrent leaf bases separate this species from P. ellipticum and P. rostratum. The rounded marginal teeth and, in many instances, the rounded leaf apices separate it from P. medium, the species most commonly confused with it in herbaria. Plagiomnium ciliare and P. ellipticum were considered by H. A. Crum and L. E. Anderson (1981) to be varieties of Mnium affine Blandow ex Funck [Plagiomnium affine (Blandow ex Funck) T. J. Koponen]. However, P. affine is a Eurasian species that is absent from North America.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
BC - Local Web sites:
CalFlora, CalPhotos, 
Flora NW, 
IL Wildflowers, 
KS Wildflowers, 
LA Plants, 
MD Biodiversity, 
MI Flora, 
MN Wildflowers, 
MO Plants, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
- Local floras: BC
- Local Web sites: Flora NW, IL Wildflowers, KS Wildflowers, LA Plants, MD Biodiversity, MI Flora, MN Wildflowers, MO Plants, PNW Herbaria
- WildflowerSearch
- iNaturalist (observations)
- USDA Plants Database
- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
