Tortula muralis |
Tortula amplexa |
|
---|---|---|
tortula moss, wall screw-moss |
tortula moss |
|
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 elliptic, occasionally lingulate, apex rounded and muticuous, margins weakly recurved in proximal 1/2 of leaf, weakly bordered in distal 2/3 of leaf with 2–6 rows of thicker-walled, smaller cells (sometimes weak or patchy); costa percurrent or ending 2–6 cells before the apex, lacking an adaxial pad of cells, distally narrow, 2(–3) cells across adaxial surface; distal laminal cells hexagonal, width 13–18(–25) µm, 1:1, weakly papillose. |
Seta | 0.6–1.5 cm. |
0.5–1(–1.5) cm. |
Sexual condition | autoicous. |
dioicous. |
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. |
stegocarpic, not systylius, cylindric, erect and nearly straight, urn 1.5–2 mm; peristome of 32 twisted filaments, basal membrane low; operculum 1–1.5 mm. |
Spores | 8–12 µm, spheric, finely papillose or essentially smooth. |
9–13 µm, spheric, essentially smooth. |
Sporophytes | exerted. |
exerted. |
Tortula muralis |
Tortula amplexa |
|
Phenology | Capsules mature spring–summer. | Capsules mature late summer. |
Habitat | Calcareous rock, often on bricks or walls | Soil, stones, near springs, dry washes, lowlands |
Elevation | low to moderate elevations | low 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
|
AZ; CA; WA; BC; MB; Europe (United Kingdom) |
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.) |
Tortula amplexa is similar to T. inermis but the latter is autoicous and lacks the leaf border. The lax areolation, sheathing perichaetial leaves, and weak development of the laminal papillae distinguish it from the similar T. bolanderi. This species is thought to spread by rhizoidal propagula through inadvertent human agency (A. G. Side and H. L. K. Whitehouse 1974). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 595. | FNA vol. 27, p. 602. |
Parent taxa | Pottiaceae > subfam. Pottioideae > Tortula | Pottiaceae > subfam. Pottioideae > Tortula |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Barbula amplexa, Syntrichia amplexa | |
Name authority | Hedwig: Sp. Musc. Frond., 123. (1801) | (Lesquereux) Steere: in A. J. Grout, Moss Fl. N. Amer. 1: 233. (1939) |
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