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Holomitrium vaginatum

Interesting Facts

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Description

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Family Dicranaceae

Plants small to large, often in dense tufts. Stems erect , simple or dichotomously to irregularly branched, usually with central strand, often densely radiculose , tips occasionally deciduous. Leaves in several rows around the stem, erect or secund , often falcate-secund, sometimes crispate , short- to long-lanceolate, whole leaves or their tips sometimes deciduous; costa single, usually strong , percurrent to excurrent, sometimes ending in a short to long hyaline awn , smooth , ridged or lamellose on abaxial surface, rhizoids occasionally on adaxial or abaxial surface near leaf base ; laminal cells smooth or sometimes distal cells mammillose or papillose on one or both sides, papillae rarely forked , or toothed by projecting cell ends, pitted or nonpitted; proximal cells elongate , often differentiated in alar region, sometimes undifferentiated. Specialized asexual reproduction absent or occasionally present as brood leaves, microphyllous branches, borne in axils of distal leaves or as rhizoidal tubers. Sexual condition autoicous , dioicous or pseudomonoicous. Seta solitary or several per perichaetium , elongate, usually straight, sometimes flexuose or cygneous . Capsule exserted, erect, inclined , or sometimes curved , cylindrical or ovoid , smooth, ridged, furrowed or irregularly wrinkled, sometimes strumose ; stomata present or absent, superficial; annulus present or absent, often compound , deciduous or persistent ; operculum conic or obliquely rostrate from a conic base; peristome single, usually of 16 lanceolate teeth, deeply divided into 2 or rarely 3 divisions, usually vertically striolate or pitted-striolate proximally, papillose distally. Calyptra cucullate , smooth, naked, sometimes fringed at base, usually covering most of capsule, fugacious . Spores mostly spheric, smooth to papillose.

Genera 50-52, species ca. 900 (17 genera, 90 species in the flora ) : worldwide.

Distinctive characters of this large acrocarpous family include the erect, often tomentose stems; mostly narrow, lanceolate, occasionally falcate or falcate-secund leaves, with a single, narrow to broad costa, with or without rhizoids at the base, sometimes ending in a hyaline, occasionally toothed apex, costa in cross section with or without stereid bands , leaf cells usually smooth, sometimes mammillose, or rarely with a single papilla on one or both sides, papillae rarely forked, asexual propagation by specialized deciduous branches, deciduous leaves or leaf apices, rarely rhizoidal tubers; sporophytes usually solitary or rarely clustered, setae mostly elongate, straight or rarely flexuose or cygneous, capsule cylindric to ovoid, erect to horizontal, smooth or ribbed , sometimes strumose, operculum usually obliquely rostrate, peristome single, with 16 teeth often divided 1/2 way to the base, usually striolate or pitted-striolate proximally, papillose distally.[1]

Genus Holomitrium

Plants small to robust , yellowish green to brownish green, in dense tufts. Stems erect , usually branched; central strand present. Leaves lanceolate, erect at base , clasping or keeled , crispate to curled when dry, erect spreading when moist; margins entire to crenulate or serrulate ; costa percurrent to excurrent, smooth at back or denticulate at the apex; upper cells small, rounded-quadrate, thick-walled, smooth; basal cells elongate-rectangular, thin-walled; alar cells differentiated, small. Dioicous or autoicous . Perichaetial leaves sheathing to convolute at base, long setaceous toward the apex. Setae erect, 12 per perichaetium ; capsules erect, oblong-ovoid to cylindric , symmetric or slightly curved , asymmetric , smooth; opercula long-rostrate; annuli none; peristome teeth 16, inserted below the mouth , perforate along the median line or divided to the middle , papillose . Calyptrae cucullate , entire at base. Spores spherical , finely papillose.

Presently, 52 species are recognized in Holomitrium. The genus is primarily distributed in the tropical regions of the world, with only a few species found outside the tropics.[2]

Taxonomy

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Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 19-Jul-2004

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Holomitrium

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 0 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 27, 2008:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Robert R. Ireland Jr. "Dicranaceae". in Flora of North America Vol. 27 Page 12, 39, 331, 358, 360, 426, 427, 433, 440, 443, 444, 548, 564. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. "Holomitrium". in Moss Flora of China Vol. 1 Page 193. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
Last Revised: 7/20/2012