Tortula muralis |
Tortula acaulon |
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tortula moss, wall screw-moss |
cuspidate earth-moss, tooth phascum moss |
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Leaves | ovate or elliptic to obovate, apex broadly acute to rounded or emarginate, short- to long-awned, margins narrowly recurved or revolute to near apex, commonly bordered distally with 2–4 rows of thicker-walled, papillose to smooth cells; costa long-excurrent, lacking an adaxial pad of cells, distally narrow, 3–4(–6) cells across the convex adaxial surface; distal laminal cells hexagonal, 10–15 µm wide, 1:1, strongly papillose with 2(–4)-fid papillae. |
ovate to oblong-lanceolate, apex acute, mucronate to short-awned, occasionally comparatively long-awned, margins recurved proximally to nearly plane, not or weakly bordered distally with slightly thicker-walled cells; costa excurrent, lacking an adaxial pad of cells, distally narrow, 2(–3) cells across adaxial surface; distal laminal cells distally quadrate-hexagonal, width 13–17 µm, 1:1, weakly simply papillose or smooth. |
Seta | 0.6–1.5 cm. |
very short. |
Sexual condition | autoicous. |
autoicous. |
Capsule | stegocarpic, not systylius, cylindric, erect and nearly straight, urn 1.5–2.7 mm; peristome 300 µm, teeth of 32 filaments twisted 1/2–2 times, basal membrane low, to 50 µm; operculum 0.6–1 mm. |
cleistocarpic, spheric to very short-ellipsoid, erect, mostly 0.9–1.3 mm; peristome absent; operculum not differentiated. |
Spores | 8–12 µm, spheric, finely papillose or essentially smooth. |
(25–)33–40 µm, spheric, densely papillose. |
Sporophytes | exerted. |
immersed. |
Tortula muralis |
Tortula acaulon |
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Phenology | Capsules mature spring–summer. | Capsules mature winter–spring. |
Habitat | Calcareous rock, often on bricks or walls | Soil, lawns, fields, banks |
Elevation | low to moderate elevations | low to moderate elevations |
Distribution |
AK; AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; DC; FL; GA; IA; KY; LA; MD; MI; MO; NC; ND; NJ; NV; NY; OK; OR; PA; SC; TN; TX; UT; VA; WA; WV; BC; NF; NU; ON; West Indies; s South America; Europe; Asia; Africa; Atlantic Islands; Pacific Islands (New Zealand); Australia
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AK; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DE; FL; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; LA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; NE; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; WA; WI; WV; AB; BC; NS; ON; QC; SK; Mexico; Europe; Asia; n Africa; Pacific Islands (New Zealand)
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Discussion | Tortula muralis, T. brevipes, and T. plinthobia form an apparently intergrading cline in sporophyte characters, sexual condition, and elaboration of the leaf border. There may be evolutionary advantages associated with such variability, but specimens are occasionally difficult to name satisfactorily. The laminal border of 2–4 rows of thicker walled cells is usually hidden in the margin recurvature except at the leaf apex. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
The varieties pilifera and schreberiana are not recognized here. The former name may be used for plants with long awns, and the latter for robust specimens ranging to 1 cm tall, but intergrades appear to be common. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 595. | FNA vol. 27, p. 595. |
Parent taxa | Pottiaceae > subfam. Pottioideae > Tortula | Pottiaceae > subfam. Pottioideae > Tortula |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Phascum acaulon, Microbryum floerkeanum var. henrici, Phascum cuspidatum, Phascum cuspidatum var. americanum, Phascum cuspidatum var. henrici, Phascum cuspidatum var. piliferum, Phascum cuspidatum var. schreberianum, T. acaulon var. pilifera, T. acaulon var. schreberiana, T. atherodes, T. atherodes var. pilifera, T. atherodes var. schreberiana | |
Name authority | Hedwig: Sp. Musc. Frond., 123. (1801) | (Withering) R. H. Zander: Bull. Buffalo Soc. Nat. Sci. 32: 378. (1994) |
Web links |
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