Tetraplodon angustatus
Tetraplodon pallidus
narrow cruet-moss, toothedleaf nitrogen moss
pale nitrogen moss
long-lanceolate, concave, 3–4 × 0.5 mm;
margins with large teeth or occasionally entire;
apex slenderly long-acuminate;
costa nearly filling subula;
distal laminal cells rectangular or oblong-hexagonal, 20 × 30 µm. Sexual condition autoicous or dioicous.
ovate, concave, 2–3.5 mm;
margins entire or nearly so;
apex acuminate;
costa ending in subula;
distal laminal cells hexagonal, 30 µm. Sexual condition autoicous.
brownish, 0.2–0.4 cm.
clear pale yellow to stramineous, 1–2 cm.
stegocarpous, brown, dark brown with age, ovate-cylindric;
hypophysis wider than urn;
stomata in distal hypophysis;
operculum hemispheric or bluntly conic.
not cleistocarpous, clear pale yellow to stramineous, long-ovate;
hypophysis often narrower than urn, rarely broader;
stomata confined to distal hypophysis;
operculum bluntly conic.
conic-mitrate.
conic-mitrate or cucullate.
9–10 µm, smooth.
8 µm, smooth.
Tetraplodon angustatus
Tetraplodon pallidus
Tetraplodon angustatus, like T. mnioides, is mainly boreal in distribution and occurs on similar substrates; it is easily distinguished from T. mnioides by lanceolate-acuminate, irregularly serrate leaves that narrow to a slender, elongate acumen, shorter seta, and green (brown with age) hypophysis. In Alberta, sporophytes mature in spring prior to the maturation of T. mnioides sporophytes, resulting in the temporal separation of spores of these two species on fresh droppings and thus the physical separation of T. angustatus and T. mnioides on droppings where these two species occur together regionally.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Tetraplodon pallidus and T. paradoxus often grow intermixed and can be distinguished by several characters (W. C. Steere 1977b). Tetraplodon pallidus has a large operculum that falls off exposing a broad, square-shaped mouth and well-developed, reflexed teeth, and its distal laminal cell walls are thin.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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