Description
Genus Plagiothecium
Plants dark green to yellow-green, glossy or sometimes dull
. Stems 20--60 × 0.5--4 mm.
Leaves 0.7--3 × 0.4--2 mm; median
leaf cells
36--180 × 3--21 µm, apical cells
often shorter, basal cells
shorter and broader; decurrent alar
regions triangular or often auriculate
and oval
in outline, consisting of 1--8 longitudinal
rows
of spherical
, oval, quadrate
, or rectangular cells. Specialized asexual
reproduction present as smooth-walled propagula borne on stems and branches, 2--7-celled, uniseriate
bodies. Sexual condition usually autoicous
; perigonia and perichaetia numerous
at bases
of stems; perigonial bracts short, lanceolate to ovate
, acuminate to filiform-acuminate; perichaetial leaves moderately enlarged, sheathing
with somewhat spreading
apices. Seta yellow, or orange to red-brown, Capsule yellow, or orange to red-brown, oblong
to ovoid
, often contracted
under mouth
when dry, smooth
to striate
, often wrinkled at neck; cilia 1--3, nodulose
, as long as or nearly as long as the segments, rarely rudimentary
or lacking.
Species ca.
80--90; North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, Pacific Islands (New Guinea), Antarctic
.
This is a genus of terrestrial
habitats
found in coniferous
and deciduous woods
, on rotten logs
, stumps
, bases of trees
, humus
and soil, frequently overlying acidic cliffs
and boulders
, sometimes in swamps
and marshes, in temperate
, boreal and Arctic
regions, and at high elevations
in the tropics.[1]
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Plantae
()
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
()
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Phylum:
Bryophyta
()
- A. Braun, in Ascherson, 1860
- Mosses
- Subphylum:
Musci
()
- (Linnaeus, 1753) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Infraphylum:
Bryatae
()
- Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Class:
Bryopsida
()
-
- Mosses
- Subclass:
Bryidae
()
- Superorder:
Diplolepideae
()
- Order:
Hypnobryales
()
- Family:
Plagiotheciaceae
()
- Genus:
Plagiothecium
()
- Schimper in Bruch, Schimper & W. Gümbel, Bryol. Eur. 5: 179. 1851.
- [Greek, plagios, oblique; theca, case, referring to the capsule]
- Specific epithet:
elegans
- Variety:
gracilens
- Botanical name: - Plagiothecium elegans var. gracilens Austin ex Grout
- Variety:
gracilens
- Specific epithet:
elegans
- Genus:
Plagiothecium
(
- Family:
Plagiotheciaceae
(
- Order:
Hypnobryales
(
- Superorder:
Diplolepideae
(
- Subclass:
Bryidae
(
- Class:
Bryopsida
(
- Infraphylum:
Bryatae
(
- Subphylum:
Musci
(
- Phylum:
Bryophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Similar Species
Members of the genus Plagiothecium
There are approximately 142 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:
P. aciculari-pungens · P. albidens · P. albulum · P. andinum · P. antarcticum · P. aomoriense · P. argyrophyllum · P. aurantiacum · P. azumense · P. bellirete · P. berggrenianum (Berggren's Plagiothecium Moss) · P. bicolor · P. bolivianum · P. borrerianum · P. boscii · P. brevipungens · P. carifolium · P. cavifolium (Plagiothecium Moss) · P. cavifolium; (Plagiothecium Moss) · P. ceylonense · P. cochleatum · P. conostegium · P. cordifolium · P. corticola · P. curtipes · P. curvifolium · P. decursivifolium · P. dehradunense · P. denticulatum (Toothed Plagiothecium Moss) · P. denticulatum donii · P. denticulatum microcarpum · P. denticulatum sylvaticum · P. denticulatum undulatum · P. denticulatum var. bullulae · P. denticulatum var. obtusifolium · P. deplanatum · P. depressum · P. donnianum · P. draytoni · P. draytonii · P. drepanophyllum · P. elegans · P. elegans var. gracilens · P. entodontella · P. euryphyllum · P. falklandicum · P. fallax · P. flaviusculum · P. fontigenum · P. formosicum · P. geophilum · P. georgicoantarcticum · P. glossophylloides · P. groutii · P. handelii · P. herzogii · P. homaliaceum · P. inordinatum · P. jamaicense · P. laetum (Plagiothecium Moss) · P. lamprostachys · P. lancifolium · P. latebricola (Plagiothecium Moss) · P. leptoplumosum · P. lonchochaete · P. lonchopelmatum · P. longisetulum · P. lucidulum · P. lucidum · P. mariannae · P. mauiense · P. membranosulum · P. micans · P. micans var. latifolium · P. microsphaerothecium · P. mildbraedii · P. mollicaule · P. monbuttoviae · P. muehlenbeckii · P. muellerianum · P. neckeroides · P. neckeroideum · P. neglectum · P. nemorale · P. nitens · P. nitidifolium · P. nitidulum · P. nitidum · P. noricum · P. novae-seelandiae · P. novo-granatense · P. novogranatense · P. obtusissimum · P. orthocarpum · P. orthocladium · P. ovalifolium · P. paleaceum · P. passaicense · P. perminutum · P. piliferum (Plagiothecium Moss)
More Info
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Further Reading
- Ireland, R. R. 1969. A taxonomic revision of the genus Plagiothecium for North America, north of Mexico. Natl. Mus. Canada, Natl. Mus. Nat. Sci., Publ. Bot. 1: 1--118.
- Ireland, R. R. 1986. Synopsis of the genus Plagiothecium for North America. Lindbergia 12: 49--56.
- Ireland, R. R. 1987. Scanning electron microscope study of the spores of the North American species of Plagiothecium. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 45: 95--110.
Notes
Identifiers
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1040282
Footnotes
- Robert R. Ireland "Plagiothecium". in Bryophyte Flora of North America Vol. 2. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
