| Andreaea rothii | |
|---|---|
 | |
| In British Columbia, Canada | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Bryophyta |
| Subdivision: | Andreaeophytina |
| Class: | Andreaeopsida |
| Order: | Andreaeales |
| Family: | Andreaeaceae |
| Genus: | Andreaea |
| Species: | A. rothii |
| Binomial name | |
| Andreaea rothii F.Weber & D.Mohr | |
Andreaea rothii, or Roth's andreaea moss, [1] is a species of moss in the family Andreaeaceae native to North America and parts of Europe. [2] [3] This plant was described in 1807 by Weber and Mohr. [3]
Andreaea rothii gametophytes sometimes form extensive black to brown cushion-like patches, [4] [3] with individual shoots erect and less than 2 cm tall. [4] The leaves of Andreaea rothii are 1-2 cm wide, and have a strong costa, [4] [5] which is roughly synonymous to a midrib. The leaves can be falcate-secund, curving to one side of the plant. [4] [3] [5] This is especially true when wet, however the plants do not alter much when dry. [4] The outline of the leaf is pear-shaped, swelling at the base and tapering to a tip, [4] [3] and can also be strongly curved depending on subspecies. [4]
Andreaea rothii grows on rocks that are wet, acidic, and exposed. [3] [4] This species is found anywhere from areas of high elevation to sea-level. [4] [3]
Andreae rothii gametophytes can be gonioautoicous—meaning the antheridia are bud-like in the axil of an archegonial branch—or cladautoicous—meaning the antheridia and archegonia are found on different branches of the same plant. [5] Like all of the Andreaeaceae, sporangia are elevated on a pseudopodium, [6] a structure resembling a seta but composed of gametophyte tissue rather than sporophyte tissue. The sporangia will dehisce longitudinally, forming slits through which spores are dispersed. [6] [7] This pattern of dehiscence gives the genus its common name: "Lantern mosses".
Psilotum is a genus of fern-like vascular plants, commonly known as whisk ferns. It is one of two genera in the family Psilotaceae, the other being Tmesipteris. Plants in these two genera were once thought to be descended from the earliest surviving vascular plants, but more recent phylogenies place them as basal ferns, as a sister group to Ophioglossales. They lack true roots and leaves, the stems being the organs containing conducting tissue. There are only two species in Psilotum and a hybrid between the two. They differ from those in Tmesipteris in having stems with many branches and a synangium with three lobes rather than two.
Mosses, or the taxonomic division Bryophyta, are small, non-vascular flowerless plants that typically form dense green clumps or mats, often in damp or shady locations. The individual plants are usually composed of simple leaves that are generally only one cell thick, attached to a stem that may be branched or unbranched and has only a limited role in conducting water and nutrients. Although some species have conducting tissues, these are generally poorly developed and structurally different from similar tissue found in vascular plants. Mosses do not have seeds and after fertilisation develop sporophytes with unbranched stalks topped with single capsules containing spores. They are typically 0.2–10 cm (0.1–3.9 in) tall, though some species are much larger. Dawsonia, the tallest moss in the world, can grow to 50 cm (20 in) in height.
Bryophytes are an informal group consisting of three divisions of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. They are characteristically limited in size and prefer moist habitats although they can survive in drier environments. The bryophytes consist of about 20,000 plant species. Bryophytes produce enclosed reproductive structures, but they do not produce flowers or seeds. They reproduce via spores. Bryophytes are usually considered to be a paraphyletic group and not a monophyletic group, although some studies have produced contrary results. Regardless of their status, the name is convenient and remains in use as an informal collective term. The term "bryophyte" comes from Greek βρύον, bryon "tree-moss, oyster-green" and φυτόν, phyton "plant".
Fissidens adianthoides, the maidenhair pocketmoss, is a moss in the family of Fissidentaceaea. It was first collected by Hedwig in 1801.
Lycopodium clavatum is the most widespread species in the genus Lycopodium in the clubmoss family.
Takakia is a genus of two species of mosses known from western North America and central and eastern Asia. The genus is placed as a separate family, order and class among the mosses. It has had a history of uncertain placement, but the discovery of sporophytes clearly of the moss-type firmly supports placement with the mosses.
Monoicous plants are those species that bear both sperm and eggs on the same gametophyte. Dioicous plants are those that have gametophytes that produce only sperm or eggs but never both. The terms are used largely but not exclusively in the context of bryophytes. Both monoicous and dioicous gametophytes produce gametes in gametangia by mitosis rather than meiosis, so that sperm and eggs are genetically identical with their parent gametophyte. The states of being monoicous or dioicous are called monoicy and dioicy respectively.
Plant reproduction is the production of new offspring in plants, which can be accomplished by sexual or asexual reproduction. Sexual reproduction produces offspring by the fusion of gametes, resulting in offspring genetically different from the parent or parents. Asexual reproduction produces new individuals without the fusion of gametes, genetically identical to the parent plants and each other, except when mutations occur.
Andreaea is a genus of rock mosses described by Johann Hedwig in 1801.
Itatiella ulei is a species of moss in the family Polytrichaceae. It is the only species in the genus Itatiella. The Polytrichaceae is a common family of mosses that does not have close living relatives. Its small size and the inflexed leaf apex characterize Itatiella ulei. When this species grows directly exposed to sun at high elevations, it presents a similar aspect but can be distinguished based on the distal lamella cells which are single and rhombic.
Sagittaria graminea, the grassy arrowhead or grass-leaved arrowhead, is an aquatic plant species native to eastern North America. It is known from every Canadian province from Ontario to Newfoundland, and every US state from the Great Plains to the Atlantic, plus Colorado, New Mexico and Cuba. It is considered naturalized in Washington State and in Vietnam.
Splachnaceae is a family of mosses, containing around 70 species in 6 genera. Around half of those species are entomophilous, using insects to disperse their spores, a characteristic found in no other seedless land plants. Many species in this family are coprophilous, growing exclusively on animal faeces or carrion. For this reason, certain genera such as Splachnum Hedw. are often referred to as "dung mosses."
Pogonatum urnigerum is a species of moss in the family Polytrichaceae, commonly called urn haircap. The name comes from "urna" meaning "urn" and "gerere" meaning "to bear" which is believed to be a reference made towards the plant's wide-mouthed capsule. It can be found on gravelly banks or similar habitats and can be identified by the blue tinge to the overall green colour. The stem of this moss is wine red and it has rhizoids that keep the moss anchored to substrates. It is an acrocarpous moss that grows vertically with an archegonium borne at the top of each fertilized female gametophyte shoot which develops an erect sporophyte.
Climacium dendroides, also known as tree climacium moss, belongs in the order Hypnales and family Climaciaceae, in class Bryopsida and subclass Bryidae. It is identified as a "tree moss" due to its distinctive morphological features, and has four species identified across the Northern Hemisphere. The species name "dendroides" describes the tree-like morphology of the plant, and its genus name came from the structure of the perforations of peristome teeth. This plant was identified by Weber and Mohr in 1804. They often have stems that are around 2-10 cm tall and growing in the form of patches, looking like small palm-trees. They have yellow-green branches at the tip of stems. The leaves are around 2.5-3 mm long, with rounder stem leaves and pointier branch leaves. Their sporophytes are only abundant in late winter and early spring, and appears as a red-brown shoot with long stalk and cylindrical capsules.
Polytrichum strictum, commonly known as bog haircap moss or strict haircap, is an evergreen and perennial species of moss native to Sphagnum bogs and other moist habitats in temperate climates. It has a circumboreal distribution, and is also found in South America and Antarctica.
Fissidens limbatus commonly known as Herzog’s pocket-moss, is a moss in the family Fissidentaceae. This species is found growing in high elevations in tropical america in addition to the USA, Mexico and Canada. Montagne first collected F. crispus in 1838.
Buxbuamia viridis, also known as the green shield moss, is a rare bryophyte found sporadically throughout the northern hemisphere. The gametophyte of this moss is not macroscopically visible; the large, distinct sporophyte of B. viridis is the only identifying structure of this moss. This moss can be found singularly or in small groups on decaying wood, mostly in humid, sub-alpine to alpine Picea abies, Abies alba, or mixed tree forests. This moss is rare and conservation efforts are being made in most countries B. viridis is found in.
Plagiomnium venustum, also known as magnificent leafy moss, is a species of moss belonging to the family Mniaceae. It is found mainly in western North America along the coastal region. This moss can be identified from other members of the Plagiomnium genus by dark coloured stomata guide cells and the absence of sterile stems. It is most commonly found growing as a mat on a variety of substrate, but mainly on humus and moist soil.
Orthotrichum lyellii, also known as Lyell's bristle moss, is a species of acrocarpous moss belonging to the family Orthotrichaceae. O. lyellii can be found throughout western North America and Europe. It is found most commonly growing epiphytically on a variety of trees, and less commonly on rocks or boulder substrates.
Andreaea rupestris is a species of moss in the class Andreaopsida, are commonly referred to as the "lantern mosses" due to the appearance of their dehisced sporangia. It is typically found on smooth, acidic, exposed rock in the Northern hemisphere. It exhibits the common features of the genus Andreaea such as being acrocarpous, having dark pigmentation, lacking a seta, and bearing 4 lines of dehiscence in its mature sporangia, but can be further identified upon careful examination of its gametophytic leaves which have an ovate base to a more blunt apex compared to other similar species.