Pterygoneurum ovatum
Pottiaceae subfam. pottioideae
ovate pterygoneurum moss
central strand usually present, sclerodermis and hyalodermis commonly absent.
with distal lamina smooth or rarely papilose;
awn smooth or rarely with a few teeth;
lamellae 8–16 cells in height, not lobed, seldom bearing filaments.
usually ovate or broadly ligulate to spathulate, apex usually rounded or broadly acute, margins recurved basally, distal laminal cells if 2-stratose stacked directly over one another, walls smooth or papillose, KOH yellow or red, occasionally orange, occasionally yellow distally and red basally;
costa with or without a differentiated abaxial epidermis;
gemmae largely absent.
stegocarpous, emergent to exerted, ovoid, annulus present, operculum cells in straight rows; eperistomate.
cucullate or rarely mitrate.
Pterygoneurum ovatum
Pottiaceae subfam. pottioideae
Pterygoneurum ovatum is the most common species of the genus and serves to stabilize arid soils (S. Flowers 1973). The setae may reach 3 mm. Faint thickenings reminiscent of a rudimentary peristome can sometimes be found associated with spore sac remnants dug out of the operculum, and the laminal distal cells may by simply papillose abaxially as in P. lamellatum. R. T. Wareham (1939) found the characters of Pterygoneurum ovatum var. incanum Juratzka, the long awns and short setae, inconstant in both American and European material.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Genera 21 (15 in the flora).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
BC
CalFlora
Flora NW
KS Wildflowers
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
