Flora of North America species comparison

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Sciuro-hypnum populeum
Habit Plants small to medium-sized, in dense or loose tufts, green, yellowish green, or brownish yellow.
Stem(s)

leaves erect-appressed to erect, closely imbricate, ovate-lanceolate, straight, weakly concave, not or indistinctly plicate, 1.2–1.9 × 0.4–0.6 mm;

base moderately broad-decurrent;

margins plane or recurved in places (more commonly proximally), serrulate to subentire;

apex gradually tapered, short-acuminate;

costa to 80–100% leaf length, moderately strong, terminal spine sometimes present;

alar cells similar to juxtacostal cells;

laminal cells elongate or sometimes rhomboidal, 25–80 × 5–8 µm;

basal cells subquadrate to quadrate, relatively small, region in 5 rows, opaque across base.
Branch leaves

with abaxial costa surface somewhat serrate.
Seta

reddish, 0.8–1.5 cm, rough, sometimes slightly so.
Sexual condition

autoicous.
Capsule

slightly to moderately inclined, reddish, ovate, slightly curved dorsally, 1–2 mm.
Spores

12–16 µm.

Sciuro-hypnum populeum
Habitat Rock, granitic boulders, limestone, concrete, base and trunks of deciduous trees, soil, exposed or moderately shaded, dry habitats
Elevation low to high elevations (10-2000 m) (low to high elevations (0-6600 ft))
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CO; CT; DE; IA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; ON; PE; QC; Asia; Greenland; Europe; Atlantic Islands
Discussion

Sciuro-hypnum populeum is usually a lowland species, and the only exception is the population in Colorado at 2000 m (Boulder County, Bear Mt., W. A. Weber & R. C. Wittmann B-112127, COLO). H. A. Crum and L. E. Anderson (1981) noticed that, unlike in Europe, this species does not grow on tree trunks in North America, although it has occasionally been collected on tree bases in forests. Sciuro-hypnum populeum can be recognized by its combination of percurrent costa with opaque basal cells, unique among North American Brachytheciaceae. Sometimes it has been confused with Homalothecium species with costae masked by their characteristic laminal plications, and appearing percurrent. Brachythecium acuminatum and S. plumosum are similar to S. populeum in having short and more or less uniform cells across the leaf base, but the costa in these species disappears well below the apex. Sciuro-hypnum populeum may develop rather broad stem leaves with bigger basal cells in relatively wet conditions, as has S. reflexum. However, the more gradual tapering of the leaves is diagnostic.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 28, p. 458.
Parent taxa Brachytheciaceae > Sciuro-hypnum
Sibling taxa
Sciuro-hypnum curtum, Sciuro-hypnum glaciale, Sciuro-hypnum hylotapetum, Sciuro-hypnum latifolium, Sciuro-hypnum oedipodium, Sciuro-hypnum ornellanum, Sciuro-hypnum plumosum, Sciuro-hypnum reflexum, Sciuro-hypnum starkei, Sciuro-hypnum uncinifolium
Synonyms Hypnum populeum, Brachythecium populeum
Name authority (Hedwig) Ignatov & Huttunen: Arctoa 11: 270. (2003)
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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