Flora of North America species comparison

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Tetraphis pellucida

Tetraphidaceae

common four-tooth moss, pellucid four-tooth moss, tetraphis moss
Habit Plants minute and budlike or merely small, forming dense turfs or scattered patches; protonema producing chlorophyllose, perpendicular protonematal flaps, which are persistent or disappear after the development of the gametophores.
Stems

erect, to 1.5 cm.
Leaves

ovate or lanceolate, erect, three-ranked and appressed or spreading, costate or ecostate, cells smooth, rounded-hexagonal or oblong-rhomboid, basal cells elongate.
Seta

6–14 mm, erect, straight or ± flexuose, superficial cells smooth and spirally twisted the entire length or spirally twisted and interspersed with sections of prorulate straight cells.

straight or flexuose, smooth or papillose.
Sexual condition

autoicous;

archegonia and antheridia on short stems at the plant base.
Capsule

exserted, single, cylindric, ovate or shortly oblong-cylindric;

peristome of four, single, unsegmented, narrowly triangular, multicellular teeth;

annulus absent.
Calyptra

mitrate, smooth or plicate, naked.
Spores

10–13 µm.

green to yellowish, 10–16 µm, spheric, smooth or finely papillose.
Specialized

asexual structures are usually present.

Tetraphis pellucida

Tetraphidaceae
Distribution
from USDA
Throughout Northern Hemisphere
[WildflowerSearch map]
Circumboreal; disjunct to the Southern Hemisphere
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

Using growth studies, R. T. T. Forman (1962) suggested that leaf width and shape are influenced by temperature but could be used for species determination in some areas of North America, although it appears to be an inconsistent character and should be used with caution to determine sterile material. The varieties are distinguished by twisting of the superficial cells of the seta in both old, dry, and young, fresh material; the seta itself is twisted when dry.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Genera 2, species 4 (2 genera, 4 species in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Seta smooth, superficial cells spirally twisted throughout entire length
var. pellucida
1. Seta usually lightly papillose near base, superficial cells spirally twisted but interspersed with sections of straight cell
var. trachypoda
1. Plants with conspicuous stems to 1.5 cm, forming dense turfs or scattered patches, leaves costate, protonematal flaps not persistent, stalked asexual structures often present.
Tetraphis
1. Plants minute, bud-like, stems less than 0.05 cm, leaves weakly costate in distal leaves or costa absent, protonematal flaps persistent and usually present, specialized asexual structures absent.
Tetrodontium
Source FNA vol. 27, p. 112. FNA vol. 27, p. 111. Author: Judith A. Harpel.
Parent taxa Tetraphidaceae > Tetraphis
Sibling taxa
T. geniculata
Subordinate taxa
T. pellucida var. pellucida, T. pellucida var. trachypoda
Tetraphis, Tetrodontium
Synonyms Georgia pellucida, T. cuspidata
Name authority Hedwig: Sp. Musc. Frond., 45, plate 7, fig. 1a–f. (1801) Schimper
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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