Flora of North America species comparison

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Pseudoleskea radicosa

pseudoleskea moss
Habit Plants medium-sized to large, in thick mats, green, yellow-green, or orange-green.
Stems

with branches robust, julaceous, apices usually curving up;

central strand present;

paraphyllia many, filamentous to foliose, branched.
Leaves

appressed to somewhat erect when dry, erect-spreading when moist, glossy or dull, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, asymmetric, usually falcate to falcate-secund, 0.6–2(–2.4) mm;

margins narrowly recurved to mid leaf or to near acumen;

apex abruptly acute to short- or long-acuminate, hair-point absent;

costa subpercurrent to percurrent, yellow-green, sometimes sinuate;

alar cells transversely elongate to quadrate, region small to medium-sized;

medial laminal cells homogeneous, short-rhomboidal, elliptic, or fusiform, to 40 µm, 2–3(–4):1, pellucid to opaque, prorate to near base, lumina larger than 10 µm, walls thin or rarely firm, not pitted;

apical cells 2–3:1;

juxtacostal cells somewhat shorter than more distal cells, walls not pitted.
Capsule

erect to suberect, symmetric, 1–2 mm;

endostome basal membrane 1/4–1/3 exostome length, segments shorter than exostome, cilia usually present, 1 or 2, sometimes reduced.
Spores

16–22 µm.

Pseudoleskea radicosa
Distribution
North America; Eurasia; Atlantic Islands (Iceland)
[WildflowerSearch map]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

Pseudoleskea radicosa is a common and variable species found at moderate to high elevations; the capsules mature in summer. Two of the three varieties are quite distinctive. Pseudoleskea radicosa is closely related to P. incurvata but differs in the longer, more homogeneous, thin-walled, and wider laminal cells. Combined ecological, molecular and morphological studies of the varieties are needed to determine their distinctiveness.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Plants large; stem apices hooked; branches few or absent; leaves 1.6-2.3 mm, strongly falcate-secund, pluriplicate; apices long-acuminate.
var. denudata
1. Plants small to medium-sized; stem apices not distinctly hooked; branches many; leaves usually less than 1.6 mm, straight, falcate, or falcate-secund, 2-plicate; apices predominantly short-acuminate to acute
→ 2
2. Plants medium-sized; leaves weakly to moderately concave, not incurved, 1.2-1.7 mm; apices usually long-acuminate; medial laminal cells opaque.
var. radicosa
2. Plants small; leaves strongly concave, often incurved, 0.8-1.3 mm; apices acute to short-acuminate; medial laminal cells pellucid.
var. compacta
Source FNA vol. 28, p. 359.
Parent taxa Leskeaceae > Pseudoleskea
Sibling taxa
P. atricha, P. baileyi, P. incurvata, P. patens, P. saviana, P. stenophylla, P. tribulosa
Subordinate taxa
P. radicosa var. compacta, P. radicosa var. denudata, P. radicosa var. radicosa
Synonyms Hypnum radicosum, Lescuraea radicosa
Name authority (Mitten) Macoun & Kindberg: Cat. Canad. Pl., Musci, 181. (1892)
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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