Flora of North America species comparison

5–20 mm.

simple or forked, epidermal cells differentiated in 1–3 layers, central strand usually present.

usually in distinct whorls, infolded, somewhat contorted, and weakly to strongly twisted around the stem when dry, wide-spreading to slightly recurved when moist, concave, spatulate, 2–4 × 1–1.5 mm;

margins revolute in the proximal 1/2–3/4, entire;

apices acute or sometimes truncate;

costa excurrent into a long, serrate, hyaline awn (reddish at base), often strongly papillose abaxially and serrulate near the apex because of projecting cell ends, red;

basal cells abruptly differentiated, long-rectangular, 45–80 × 20–30 µm, short-rectangular to quadrate at the margins;

distal cells quadrate to hexagonal, 12–17 µm, slightly bulging, bearing 4–6 papillae per cell.

appressed and variously twisted when dry, erect-spreading to squarrose when moist, obovate, spatulate, or lingulate, rarely broadly oblong-lanceolate;

margins plane or revolute, usually entire;

apices acute to truncate or emarginate, and often apiculate;

costa generally strong, percurrent to long-excurrent as a hyaline or colored awn, usually rounded abaxailly, in section showing 1 median layer of large guide cells, 1–3 layers of smaller adaxial cells, a weak or strong abaxial stereid band, and sometimes a group of hydroids, but no abaxial epidermis of larger cells;

basal cells abruptly differentiated, large and rectangular, smooth, hyaline, thin-walled, often lax;

distal cells quadrate or sometimes slightly longer than wide, small and obscure to large and lax, usually pluripapillose on both surfaces, rarely 1-papillose only on the abaxial surface;

marginal cells sometimes differentiated, thicker-walled and colored or pale.

red, 10–18 mm.

red or brown, elongate, smooth.

synoicous (apparently rarely dioicous).

dioicous, autoicous, or synoicous;

perigonial bracts often short, ovate or oblong-lingulate, blunt, with costa often ending before the apex, perichaetia terminal, the bracts not differentiated.

brownish red, 3–4 mm, slightly curved, with a distinct neck;

operculum 1.5–2 mm, brown;

peristome ca. 1.5 mm, the distal divisions twisted about 2 turns, red, the basal membrane white, 1/2–2/3 the total length.

erect, straight or slightly curved, red or brown, cylindric, sometimes with a distinct neck, usually striolate when dry;

operculum conic, straight or slightly oblique, shorter than the urn;

peristome consisting of 32 filiform, reddish, papillose divisions slightly to strongly twisted together above a pale, tessellated basal membrane 1/6–2/3 the total length of the peristome.

long-cucullate, acute, yellow or brown.

9–13 µm, papillose.

finely to strongly papillose.

asexual reproduction absent.

asexual reproduction often present, propagula borne on the lamina or costa, in leaf axils, or on rhizoids, in shape leaflike, spherical, or cylindric.

laminal color reaction brick-red.