Flora of North America species comparison

leaves much smaller than branch leaves, triangular-lingulate, border entire and broadened at base;

hyaline cells rhomboid, efibrillose, nonornamented, aporose, and usually nonseptate;

hyaline cells not resorbed on either surface.

strongly dimorphic, spreading branches much stronger than pendent branches.

usually of two distinctly different types;

branch leaves that are normally inrolled and broadest ca. 1/4–1/3 the distance from the base, more or less tapered to a cucullate to involute apex;

stem leaves more or less flat and usually broadest at the base;

both leaf types of a network of hyaline, dead cells and green chlorophyllose cells;

pores and reinforcing fibrils frequent in branch leaf hyaline cells and uncommon in stem leaf hyaline cells.

ovate to ovate-lanceolate, apex broadly truncate, smooth and toothed;

margin denticulate;

hyaline cells fibrillose, smooth or papillose, convex surface with ± 5 small to medium-sized free pores, sometimes numerous pseudopores, concave surface with large pores in cell angles; chlorophyllous cells elliptic to ovate-triangular in transverse section, completely enclosed or exposed on concave surface, end walls unthickened.

monoicous or dioicous.

2 mm or less, with numerous pseudostomata.

mean diameter more than 30 µm, raised Y-mark sculpture on distal surface;

proximal laesura more than 0.3 spore radius.

released by explosive opening of operculum.

fascicles with 2–3 spreading branches and 2(–3) pendent branches.;

branch stems green, green to brownish, surrounded by 1 layer of efibrillose, non-ornamented, inflated, thin-walled, uniporse cells with slight protruding necks.

thallose.

lacking.

consisting of a spherical capsule with pseudostomata on capsule surface, a very short seta, and a foot, exserted on a pseudopodium of gametophyte tissue.