Pseudoleskea radicosa |
Pseudoleskea atricha |
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pseudoleskea moss |
pseudoleskea moss |
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Habit | Plants medium-sized to large, in thick mats, green, yellow-green, or orange-green. | Plants large, in thick, stiff mats, green, yellow-green, orange-green, or black-green. | ||||||||
Stems | with branches robust, julaceous, apices usually curving up; central strand present; paraphyllia many, filamentous to foliose, branched. |
with branches robust, julaceous, apices curving up; central strand present; paraphyllia many, filamentous, not branched. |
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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. |
appressed to julaceous when dry, erect-spreading when moist, dull, ovate, asymmetric, rarely somewhat falcate, (0.5–)1–1.2 mm; margins recurved proximally; apex gradually acute to rarely short-acuminate, hair-point absent; costa percurrent, green to yellow-green, somewhat sinuate; alar cells transversely elongate, quadrate, or short-rectangular, region medium-sized; medial laminal cells elongate-rhomboidal, to 40 µm, 3–4:1, opaque, distinctly prorate, walls incrassate, strongly pitted; juxtacostal cells usually shorter than medial cells, walls pitted or not. |
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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. |
inclined to suberect, asymmetric, 0.5–1.2 mm; endostome basal membrane 1/3–1/2 exostome length, segments shorter than exostome, cilia well developed to occasionally rudimentary. |
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Spores | 16–22 µm. |
(10–)12–18(–20) µm. |
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Pseudoleskea radicosa |
Pseudoleskea atricha |
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Phenology | Capsules mature summer (Jul–Aug). | |||||||||
Habitat | Subalpine and alpine rock outcrops, mineral soil | |||||||||
Elevation | moderate to high elevations (600-2300 m) (moderate to high elevations (2000-7500 ft)) | |||||||||
Distribution | North America; Eurasia; Atlantic Islands (Iceland)
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AK; WA; BC |
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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.) |
Pseudoleskea atricha is a local high elevation endemic species characterized by ovate leaves with an acute but not acuminate apex, and incrassate laminal cells that are strongly pitted. Only P. baileyi also has strongly pitted cells, but it differs in having leaves with long acumina and hair-points, and stems lacking paraphyllia. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 28, p. 359. | FNA vol. 28, p. 356. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Leskeaceae > Pseudoleskea | Leskeaceae > Pseudoleskea | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | Hypnum radicosum, Lescuraea radicosa | P. atrovirens var. atricha, Lescuraea atricha | ||||||||
Name authority | (Mitten) Macoun & Kindberg: Cat. Canad. Pl., Musci, 181. (1892) | (Kindberg) Kindberg: Ottawa Naturalist 7: 20. (1893) | ||||||||
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