Flora of North America species comparison

leaves densely foliose in rosulate habits, abruptly larger distally, the whorl-bases consisting of small leaves, loosely and variously incurled and contorted, occasionally somewhat crisped when dry, widespreading to patent when moist, typically oblong or oblong-spathulate, most leaves flat at mid leaf, somewhat concave and weakly keeled near the apex, not cucullate; 1.5–3.5(–4) mm;

base subclasping and often appearing narrower than the limb to somewhat broader and elliptic;

margins flat to weakly and broadly undulate, erect or broadly incurved near the apex;

apex typically obtuse to broadly or occasionally narrowly acute, usually stoutly mucronate;

costa short-excurrent, adaxial surface papillose, adaxial epidermal cells typically quadrate to short-rectangular and similar to the laminal cells throughout, sometimes smooth and narrowly elongate cells (8:1) toward the apex due to exposure of the stereid band or, in the extreme apex, exposure of the guide cells; in cross section adaxial epidermis present, often interrupted in the extreme distal portion of the leaf, proximal laminal cells yellow-hyaline, elongate, laxly thin-walled, gradually distally papillose, marginal basal cells longer and larger than median cells, occasionally approximating a band of differentiated cells;

proximal cells interior to the marginal gradually differentiated from the distal laminal cells;

distal laminal cells small, typically 6–7(–9) µm wide.

leaves usually appressed and often contorted when dry, spreading when wet, ovoid to lanceolate or lingulate, often channeled or keeled, rarely concave, mostly ca. 1.5–3.5 mm;

base usually ovate to oblong, occasionally sheathing the stem;

margins usually recurved proximally, occasionally plane, incurved, or involute, entire or sometimes dentate distally, occasionally bordered by thick-walled or elongate cells or cells in one or more layers;

apex rounded-obtuse to more commonly narrowly acute;

costa ending a few cells before the apex to short-excurrent or long-excurrent as an awn, sometimes with photosynthetic outgrowths adaxially, adaxial cells quadrate or elongate in usually 2–4 rows, costa in medial transverse section usually with a differentiated epidermis adaxially or on both sides, 1 or 2 stereid bands, the abaxial stereid band usually rounded or reniform, guide cells in 1(–3) layers, hydroid strand occasionally present (sometimes multiple);

basal laminal cells usually differentiated, smooth or lightly papillose, rectangular, generally filling the base medially, sometimes rising marginally in a V shape, occasionally bulging, usually slightly wider than the distal laminal cells;

distal laminal cells usually subquadrate, occasionally hexagonal or rarely short-rectangular or rhomboid, mostly small, ca. 9–16 mm wide, 1:1, papillae usually present over the distal laminal cells, solid or occasionally hollow, usually 2-fid but occasionally simple, sometimes flattened or compound, cell walls mostly evenly thickened, superficially flat to bulging, sometimes bulging only adaxially, usually in one layer.

about (0.5–)0.7–1.7 cm;

one per perichaetium, but often three to four per plant from different branches.

usually solitary, elongate, often twisted.

autoicous;

perigonia small, distinctive, stalked, flattened, usually single, rarely geminate, frequently yellow or orange, foliose buds of 2–6 leaves in axils of the distal leaves alongside and proximal to the perichaetium;

inner perichaetial leaves little differentiated from stem leaves.

dioicous or monoicous, occasionally rhizautoicous;

perigonia and perichaetia terminal or occasionally lateral on short branchlets.

1.5–3 mm;

annulus deciduous in fragments;

operculum 1.2–1.5 mm;

peristome teeth, to over 1 mm, spirally wound 2 or 3 times.

stegocarpous or cleistocarpous, theca ovoid to cylindric, neck usually small or nearly absent;

annulus little differentiated or of 1–2 rows of vesiculose cells, occasionally revoluble or deciduous in pieces;

operculum short-conic to short-rostrate, cells in straight or oblique rows;

peristome teeth occasionally absent, more usually erect or twisted usually dextrose (counter clockwise), yellow, orange, or red, rudimentary or consisting of 16 mostly twice cleft, spiculose, striate, or papillose, lanceolate teeth, or 32 linear, usually densely spiculose filiform divisions, the basal membrane usually low or absent, occasionally very high and trabeculate.

cucullate, smooth, occasionally mitrate, rarely papillose.

usually ca. 10–15 µm, occasionally much larger.

asexual reproduction none.

asexual reproduction common, by multicellular (rarely 1-cellular) gemmae borne on stalks in the leaf axils or more seldom on leaves, or by obovoid brood bodies borne on rhizoids in the soil, rarely by reduced or fragile leaves or fragile stems.

plants occasionally smaller than the perichaetiate, seldom nearly stemless and budlike.

leaves often sheathing in the basal portion and then with elongate-rhomboid cells basally, usually larger than the cauline leaves, long-oval to long-lanceolate.

often in transformation series of peristome reduction and seta shortening.

KOH color reaction yellow to orange-red or red in 2% KOH solution.