Flora of North America species comparison

leaves irregularly twisted or curved, loosely spiraled around stem and ± undulate when dry, spreading to wide-spreading, sometimes subsquarrose, recurved when moist, oblong-lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, 0.7–2 mm;

margins entire to ± sharply serrulate near apex;

apex sharply acute, apiculus usually present;

costa ending near apex, abaxial surface smooth or covered by cells only at apex;

basal laminal cells short-rectangular;

distal cells 5–11 µm, papillae 3–6 per cell, walls somewhat thick.

erect-ascending and often 2-fid, or creeping, branches many, erect or ascending, simple or 2-fid;

outer cell walls thick, central strand absent, inner cells uniform, walls thin.

erect-appressed, crowded, spirally twisted, flexuose, crisped, or contorted when dry, erect-spreading to squarrose-recurved when moist, ovate-lanceolate, ligulate-oblong, or lanceolate-linear, ± channeled;

base not decurrent (decurrent in Zygodon);

margins usually plane to revolute, rarely involute to erect, entire or sometimes denticulate near apex;

apex rounded-obtuse, acute, occasionally acuminate, apiculate, or awned;

costa strong, ending near apex;

alar cells rarely differentiated;

basal laminal cells rectangular, elongate-linear, quadrate, rounded, or elliptic;

distal cells rounded-hexagonal, rarely rectangular, usually small, papillae 1–4(–6) per cell, conic or 2-fid, rarely smooth or mammillose, walls often incrassate.

erect, dextrorse or sinistrorse, smooth or rarely rough.

synoicous or autoicous.

usually gonioautoicous or dioicous, rarely pseudautoicous or cladautoicous;

perigonia terminal or lateral, sometimes occurring on dwarf male plants, budlike, large;

perichaetia terminal, further branching occurring by innovations, perichaetial leaves sometimes larger than stem leaves.

erect, immersed, emergent, or exserted, ovate to cylindric-fusiform, symmetric, smooth or 8-ribbed, rarely 16-ribbed, sometimes constricted below mouth;

exothecial cells rectangular to elliptic, often differentiated into bands;

stomata superficial or immersed, usually below mid capsule, well developed;

annulus poorly developed or absent;

operculum convex to conic, rostrate;

peristome double, single, rudimentary or rarely absent;

prostome sometimes present, usually fragmentary;

exostome teeth 16, usually connate in 8 pairs, erect, recurved, or reflexed, lanceolate, thick, densely papillose or striate;

endostome segments 8 or 16 when present, hyaline, thin, linear-lanceolate, alternating with exostome teeth or connate to form rudimentary membrane, cilia absent.

mitrate or rarely cucullate, usually large and conspicuous, hairy or naked, plicate or not.

17–22 µm.

isosporous or anisosporous.

asexual reproduction by clavate to elliptic gemmae, longitudinal walls usually absent.

asexual reproduction occasional, by gemmae.