Polytrichum piliferum

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Polytrichum piliferum
Polytrichum piliferum (b, 113339-471137) 7699.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Bryophyta
Class: Polytrichopsida
Order: Polytrichales
Family: Polytrichaceae
Genus: Polytrichum
Species:
P. piliferum
Binomial name
Polytrichum piliferum
Hedw.
Synonyms [1]
Synonyms
  • Polytrichum piliferum var alpestreWulfsb.
  • Polytrichum piliferum var elegansBaur
  • Polytrichum piliferum var hoppei(Hornsch.) H.C. Hall
  • Polytrichum piliferum var hyperboreus(R.Br.) Müll. Hal.
  • Polytrichum piliferum var longisetumBauer
  • Polytrichum piliferum var tectorumWarnst.
  • Polytrichum piliferum f SchiffneriBaur

Polytrichum piliferum, the bristly haircap, is an evergreen perennial species of moss in the family Polytrichaceae. [2] The bristly haircap moss is small-sized to medium-sized and forms loose tufts [3] with wine-reddish stems. [4] It is an acrocarpous moss that appears bluish-green to grey. [5] This moss grows in clumps on erect shoots and becomes a red-brown colour as it grows older. [6] The most distinguishing feature of P. piliferum is the long, white awn at the tips of the leaves, which also give this moss its grey colour. [5] It is the only species in its genus where the awn is completely hyaline. [6]

Contents

Common names

In English the species goes by the common names polytrichum moss, bristly haircap, [7] or bristly haircap moss. In Finnish its common name is karvakarhunsammal, while in German it is called Glashaar-Frauenhaarmoos, Glashaar-Haarmützenmoos, Glashaar-Widertonmoos, Haartragendes Frauenhaar-Moos, or Haartragendes Frauenhaarmoos. [2]

Distribution

Polytrichum piliferum has a bipolar, cosmopolitan distribution, occurring in suitable habitats on all continents [2] [8] including Antarctica. [9] : 39 P. piliferum is less common than Polytrichum juniperinum [7] and it often occurs in association with species of Cladonia . [3] In sandy dry grass lands the species prevents higher plants from growing. [10]

Habitat

It is found in similar habitats to Polytrichum juniperinum, [7] however, P. piliferum prefers more open and exposed areas. [11] : 324 P. piliferum also prefers a drier environment [6] and is able to withstand temperatures as high as 90°C to 100°C. [12] P. piliferum can also be frequently found in areas that are acidic and low in nutrients, therefore, they can be an excellent gauge for nutrient levels. [5]

The habitat of P. piliferum includes shallow soil over outcrops, exposed sandy soils of banks, gravel cover, and disturbed areas. [5] Other habitats of P. piliferum includes rocks on road banks or pastures. [13] It is also found in shallow and drained sand or gravel, like in ground over rocks and boulders. [3]

Reproduction

P. piliferum is dioicous, meaning that it has separate male and female plants. [3] To sexually reproduce, this moss utilizes the splash-cup mechanism to disperse the sperm it produces from its antheridia. The splash-cup mechanism occurs when raindrops splash onto the antheridia, collect sperm, and are hopefully splashed onto the female plant, where the sperm can swim to the archegonia. [14]

Gametophytic characteristics

Overall structure

Polytrichum piliferum grows close to the ground (about 4 cm or less) and forms dense clusters near the tip of the shoot, forcing the stem to be somewhat bare. [11] The stem is tall, wiry, unbranched, and a dark-red colour. [3] The calyptra of P. piliferum is hairy and a whitish-brown color. [3]

Leaf structure

A cross section of the leaf photosynthetic lamellae of Polytrichum piliferum Male shoots of Polytrichum piliferum showing the reddish terminal 'flowers' that contain the antheridia A female plant of Polytrichum piliferum with attached sporophyte showing the hyaline leaf points Polytrichum piliferum (f, 141203-472409) 5598.JPG
A cross section of the leaf photosynthetic lamellae of Polytrichum piliferum
Male shoots of Polytrichum piliferum showing the reddish terminal 'flowers' that contain the antheridia A moss - Polytrichum piliferum - geograph.org.uk - 974857.jpg
Male shoots of Polytrichum piliferum showing the reddish terminal 'flowers' that contain the antheridia
A female plant of Polytrichum piliferum with attached sporophyte showing the hyaline leaf points Polytrichum piliferum detail.jpeg
A female plant of Polytrichum piliferum with attached sporophyte showing the hyaline leaf points

In P. piliferum, shorter leaves are located close together towards the tip of its red stems, giving the shoot a characteristic tapered shape. [7] The leaves have a distinct white, hair-like awn at the leaf tip, in contrast to the short red-brown awns of P. juniperinum. These leaves can be anywhere from 4 mm to 7 mm long, [13] although they may be shorter in dry areas. [6] The leaves of P. piliferum are costate and often stand erect, straight, and slightly in-curved when dry, and erect-spreading when moist. [3]

Polytrichum piliferum leaves possess parallel, longitudinal lamellae of photosynthetic tissue on their upper surfaces, which are a unique characteristic associated with the Polytrichopsida. [14] Another distinguishing feature of P. piliferum are the in-curved leaf blades over the photosynthetic lamellae. [15] The topmost cells of the lamellae in P. piliferum are smooth, [5] and under a microscope, the cross section of each lamella appears 1 cell wide and 5 to 7 cells high. [13]

Male gametophyte

In this species, the antheridia develop from cells below the leaves. [16] The male shoots produce a dark-red, terminal antheridia [11] that is surrounded by a cup-shaped whorl of perigonial leaves that resembles a flower. [5] [3]

Sporophytic characteristics

The sporophytes of P. piliferum are common and usually reach maturity during the summer. [5] The sporangia are cube-like and inclined, but become more horizontal when mature. [3] They are borne on the red-brown seta that is approximately 1 cm to 3 cm in height. [3]

Conservation status

P. piliferum is ranked globally as secure (G5) as of 1/26/2015, [17] meaning that this species is at a very low risk of becoming globally extinct due to an abundant population. [18] In Canada, Polytrichum pilifeurm is ranked as secure (N5), [17] meaning that this species has a very low risk of becoming extinct in Canada due to a high presence in an extensive habitat. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moss</span> Division of non-vascular land plants

Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophytasensu stricto. Bryophyta may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hornworts. Mosses 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. There are approximately 12,000 species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryophyte</span> Terrestrial plants that lack vascular tissue

The Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophyta s.s. consists of the mosses only. 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 sexually by spores and asexually by fragmentation or the production of gemmae. Though bryophytes were considered a paraphyletic group in recent years, almost all of the most recent phylogenetic evidence supports the monophyly of this group, as originally classified by Wilhelm Schimper in 1879. The term bryophyte comes from Ancient Greek βρύον (brúon) 'tree moss, liverwort', and φυτόν (phutón) 'plant'.

<i>Fissidens adianthoides</i> Species of moss

Fissidens adianthoides, the maidenhair pocketmoss, is a moss in the family of Fissidentaceaea. It was first collected by Hedwig in 1801.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antheridium</span> Part of a plant producing and containing male gametes

An antheridium is a haploid structure or organ producing and containing male gametes. The plural form is antheridia, and a structure containing one or more antheridia is called an androecium. Androecium is also the collective term for the stamens of flowering plants.

Monoicy is a sexual system in haploid plants where both sperm and eggs are produced on the same gametophyte, in contrast with dioicy, where each gametophyte produces only sperm or eggs but never both. 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.

<i>Polytrichum commune</i> Species of moss

Polytrichum commune is a species of moss found in many regions with high humidity and rainfall. The species can be exceptionally tall for a moss with stems often exceeding 30 cm (12 in) though rarely reaching 70 cm (27.5 in), but it is most commonly found at shorter lengths of 5 to 10 cm. It is widely distributed throughout temperate and boreal latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere and also found in Mexico, several Pacific Islands including New Zealand, and also in Australia. It typically grows in bogs, wet heathland and along forest streams.

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 either parent. Asexual reproduction produces new individuals without the fusion of gametes, resulting in clonal plants that are genetically identical to the parent plant and each other, unless mutations occur.

<i>Polytrichum</i> Genus of mosses in the family Polytrichaceae

Polytrichum is a genus of mosses — commonly called haircap moss or hair moss — which contains approximately 70 species that cover a cosmopolitan distribution. The genus Polytrichum has a number of closely related sporophytic characters. The scientific name is derived from the Ancient Greek words polys, meaning "many", and thrix, meaning "hair". This name was used in ancient times to refer to plants with fine, hairlike parts, including mosses, but this application specifically refers to the hairy calyptras found on young sporophytes. A similar naming related to hair appears in Old Norse, haddr silfjar, "hair of Sif", goddess from Norse Mythology, wife of the god Thor. There are two major sections of Polytrichum species. The first — section Polytrichum — has narrow, toothed, and relatively erect leaf margins. The other — section Juniperifolia — has broad, entire, and sharply inflexed leaf margins that enclose the lamellae on the upper leaf surface. Polytrichum reproduce by vegetative and sexual methods.

<i>Aulacomnium palustre</i> Species of moss

Aulacomnium palustre, the bog groove-moss or ribbed bog moss, is a moss that is nearly cosmopolitan in distribution. It occurs in North America, Hispaniola, Venezuela, Eurasia, and New Zealand. In North America, it occurs across southern arctic, subboreal, and boreal regions from Alaska and British Columbia to Greenland and Quebec. Documentation of ribbed bog moss's distribution in the contiguous United States is probably incomplete. It is reported sporadically south to Washington, Wyoming, Georgia, and Virginia.

<i>Polytrichum juniperinum</i> Species of moss

Polytrichum juniperinum, commonly known as juniper haircap or juniper polytrichum moss, is an evergreen and perennial species of moss that is widely distributed, growing on every continent including Antarctica.

<i>Dawsonia superba</i> Species of moss

Dawsonia superba is a moss in the class Polytrichaceae that is found in Australia, New Guinea, Malaysia and New Zealand. D. superba is the tallest self-supporting moss in the world, reaching heights of 60 cm. It has analogous structures to those in vascular plants that support large size, including hydroid and leptoid cells to conduct water and photosynthate, and lamellae that provide gas chambers for more efficient photosynthesis. D. superba is a member of the class Polytrichopsida, although it has a sporophyte that is unique from other hair-cap mosses.

<i>Polytrichum alpinum</i> Species of moss

Polytrichum alpinum, also known as Alpine haircap, is a species of moss from the family Polytrichaceae. It is widely distributed and may be found growing among other moss species.

<i>Pogonatum urnigerum</i> Species of moss

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.

<i>Climacium dendroides</i> Species of moss

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.

<i>Polytrichum strictum</i> Species of moss

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.

<i>Plagiomnium venustum</i> Species of moss

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.

<i>Orthotrichum lyellii</i> Species of moss

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.

<i>Polytrichastrum formosum</i> Species of moss

Polytrichastrum formosum, commonly known as the bank haircap moss is a species of moss belonging to the family Polytrichaceae.

Polytrichum hyperboreum is a species of moss belonging to the genus Polytrichum, commonly found throughout arctic regions of the world. Members of this dioecious species readily produces sporophytes with their sporophytic structure, consisting of a foot, seta, capsule, and a hairy calyptra, similar to other Polytrichum species. Polytrichum hyperboreum is distinguishable by certain unique features of there gametophytic structure that sets them apart from other genus members.

Claopodium crispifolium, crispleaf roughmoss, is a moss species in the family Leskeaceae. It is an epiphyte growing on trees in North America.

References

  1. ↑ "Polytrichum piliferum". The Plant List. Royal Botanic Garden Kew and Missouri Botanic Garden. 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Polytrichum moss - Encyclopedia of Life". eol.org. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Polytrichum piliferum in Flora of North America @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  4. ↑ "E-Flora BC Atlas Page". linnet.geog.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Polytrichum piliferum | Introduction to Bryophytes" . Retrieved 2022-02-11.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Webmaster, David Ratz. "Frosted Haircap Moss - Montana Field Guide". fieldguide.mt.gov. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Watson, EV (1981). British Mosses and Liverworts: An Introductory Work (3 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 148. ISBN   978-0-521-28536-0.
  8. ↑ Ros, Rosa María; Cano, María J.; Guerra, Juan (1999). "Bryophyte checklist of Northern Africa". Journal of Bryology. 21 (3): 207–244. doi:10.1179/jbr.1999.21.3.207.
  9. ↑ Putzke, J.; Pereira, A.B. (2001). The Antarctic mosses with special reference to the South Shetland Islands. Brazil: Ed. Ulbra. ISBN   85-7528-008-2.
  10. ↑ Leuschner, Christoph; Ellenberg, Heinz (2017-09-13). Ecology of Central European Non-Forest Vegetation: Coastal to Alpine, Natural to Man-Made Habitats: Vegetation Ecology of Central Europe, Volume II. Springer. p. 569. ISBN   978-3-319-43048-5.
  11. 1 2 3 Atherton, I; Bosanquet, S; Lawley, M, eds. (2010). Mosses and liverworts of Britain and Ireland, a field guide (PDF). Plymouth, UK: British Bryological Society Publications. ISBN   978-0-9561310-1-0.
  12. ↑ Stoutjesdijk, Ph; Barkman, J. J. (2014-12-01). Microclimate, Vegetation & Fauna. BRILL. p. 152. ISBN   978-90-04-29780-7.
  13. 1 2 3 McKnight, Karl B.; Rohrer, Joseph R.; Ward, Kirsten McKnight; Perdrizet, Warren J. (2013-02-21). Common Mosses of the Northeast and Appalachians. Princeton University Press. p. 65. ISBN   978-1-4008-4588-0.
  14. 1 2 "Class Polytrichopsida | Introduction to Bryophytes" . Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  15. ↑ "E-Flora BC Atlas Page". linnet.geog.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  16. ↑ Goffinet, Bernard (2008-10-30). Bryophyte Biology. Cambridge University Press. p. 76. ISBN   978-1-107-37728-8.
  17. 1 2 "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  18. 1 2 "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
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