Pohlia obtusifolia

(Villars ex Bridel) L. F. Koch

Leafl. W. Bot. 6: 20. 1950.

Basionym: Bryum obtusifolium Villars ex Bridel Muscol. Recent. 2(3): 52. 1803
Synonyms: Pohlia cucullata (Schwägrichen) Bruch ex Hochstetter
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 28. Treatment on page 200. Mentioned on page 195, 201, 204.

Plants small to medium-sized, pale green, dull. Stems 0.3–0.8 cm. Leaves erect to ± spreading, broadly lanceolate, 0.7–1.4 mm; margins serrulate to serrate in distal 1/3; costa subpercurrent; distal medial laminal cells hexagonal or broadly rhombic, lax, 30–70 µm, walls thin. Specialized asexual reproduction absent. Sexual condition paroicous; perichaetial leaves scarcely differentiated, broadly lanceolate. Seta orangebrown. Capsule inclined 160–180°, stramineous to orangebrown, broadly pyriform, neck 1/3 urn length; exothecial cells elongate-rectangular, walls straight; stomata superficial; annulus present; operculum bluntly conic; exostome teeth yellow to brown, bluntly acute; endostome hyaline, basal membrane low, scarcely exceeding capsule rim to 1/3 exostome length, segments narrow, weakly keeled, broadly perforate, cilia absent. Spores 17–25 µm, distinctly roughened.


Phenology: Capsules mature summer (Jun–Aug).
Habitat: Soil, often in late snowmelt areas in alpine and subalpine zones
Elevation: high elevations

Distribution

V28 316-distribution-map.gif

Greenland, Alta., B.C., Nfld. and Labr., Nunavut, Ont., Que., Yukon, Alaska, Ariz., Calif., Colo., Maine, Mont., Nev., Tex., Vt., Wash., Wyo., Eurasia

Discussion

Plants of Pohlia obtusifolia with sporophytes are generally small, but some sterile colonies in late snowmelt areas at high elevations form deeper cushions. When plants are sterile, the subtly cucullate leaves provide a clue to their identity; they are similar to those of P. drummondii, but the stems tend to be less red, the laminal cells are broader and thinner walled, and axillary gemmae are absent. Pohlia obtusifolia is paroicous (unlike P. drummondii, which is dioicous) and the capsules are barrel-shaped, with straight, rectangular walls (sinuate in P. drummondii and other gemmiferous species). The peristome of P. obtusifolia is relatively reduced, with slenderly triangular exostome teeth that are weakly pitted basally, a low endostomial basal membrane, and narrow segments that are weakly keeled but broadly perforate.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"narrow" is not a number."narrow" is not a number.

... more about "Pohlia obtusifolia"
erect;widespreading +
A. Jonathan Shaw +
(Villars ex Bridel) L. F. Koch +
reduced +
brown;reddish +
not +  and decurrent +
Bryum obtusifolium +
cucullate +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
stramineous;orangebrown +
long-exserted +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
not +  and nodulose +
short-excurrent +  and percurrent +
subpercurrent +
linear-rhomboidal +, rhombic +  and elongate-hexagonal +
Greenland +, Alta. +, B.C. +, Nfld. and Labr. +, Nunavut +, Ont. +, Que. +, Yukon +, Alaska +, Ariz. +, Calif. +, Colo. +, Maine +, Mont. +, Nev. +, Tex. +, Vt. +, Wash. +, Wyo. +  and Eurasia +
high elevations +
dark reddish-brown +, pale-yellow +  and brown +
elongate-rectangular +
Soil, often in late snowmelt areas in alpine and subalpine zones +
erect;more or less spreading +
lanceolate +
vegetative +
0.07 cm0.7 mm <br />7.0e-4 m <br /> (0.14 cm1.4 mm <br />0.0014 m <br />) +
not differentiated +
entire;finely serrate;serrulate +
serrulate to serrate +
slightly narrower and longer +
undifferentiated +
autoicous +, paroicous +, dioicous +  and sexual +
short-rectangular +  and quadrate +
1+ times urn length +
differentiated +
lateral +  and terminal +
lateral +  and terminal +
diplolepidous-alternate +
Capsules mature summer (Jun–Aug). +
Leafl. W. Bot. +
smooth;papillose +
spheric;ovoid +
orangebrown +
straight +
darker +, hyaline +, tan +  and pale-yellow +
not complanate-foliate +
short to long +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
superficial +
Pohlia cucullata +
Pohlia obtusifolia +
species +
not +  and trabeculate +
papillose +  and pitted +
triangular;lanceolate +
reduced +
multicellular +
spheric;ovoid +
extensive +
collenchymatous +
straight +
specialized +
paroicous +, sexual +  and asexual +
sinuate +
small;medium-sized +