Plagiomnium insigne
Plagiomnium cuspidatum
badge moss, coastal leafy moss, costal leafy moss, plagiomnium moss
baby tooth moss, tooth plagiomnium moss, woods leafy moss, woodsy mnium
dark green, green, or yellow-green, crisped and contorted when dry, flat when moist, elliptic, narrowly elliptic, or occasionally ovate or oblong, (3–)5–9(–11) mm;
base broadly long-decurrent;
margins toothed to near base, teeth sharp, of 1 or 2 cells;
apex acute, acuminate, or occasionally obtuse or rounded, cuspidate, cusp toothed;
costa excurrent, percurrent, or rarely subpercurrent;
medial laminal cells usually short-elongate or ± isodiametric, 40–70(–80) µm, somewhat smaller near margins to about 1/2 size, in weakly defined longitudinal rows, rarely in diagonal rows, collenchymatous, walls pitted, pits often indistinct;
marginal cells linear, in 3–4(–5) rows.
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.
3–6(–8), reddish proximally, yellow distally, 2–4 cm.
single, yellow, brown, or sometimes reddish, 2–3 cm.
dioicous.
synoicous.
pendent, cylindric, 3.5–4.5 mm, neck not distinct;
operculum conic-apiculate.
pendent, ovoid or cylindric, 2–3.5 mm, neck not distinct;
operculum conic-apiculate.
20–25 µm.
18–31 µm.
stems 3–8 cm, not dendroid;
sterile stems to 10 cm.
stems 1–2(–3.5) cm, not dendroid;
sterile stems to 7 cm.
Plagiomnium insigne
Plagiomnium cuspidatum
Plagiomnium insigne is typically a large species, often forming extensive mats or turfs. It is fairly common in forests and in shaded urban habitats along the west coast. Plagiomnium medium is usually smaller, lighter green, and found in generally wetter habitats than P. insigne. According to T. J. Koponen (1974), older fertile stems of P. medium are more densely covered with rhizoids than those of P. insigne that are nearly rhizoid free.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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.)
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