Montana Field Guide

Plants: Pleurocarpous (Vitt 1988). Growing in mats, pale green to green or brown with yellow tones. Stems creeping or bowed and sloping upwards (Crum & Anderson et al. 1981), bipinnate, fern-like (fanned and flattened), 4-9 cm in length (FNA 2014); paraphyllia numerous with branches thread-like or sometimes lance-shaped (Crum & Anderson et al. 1981).

Stem Leaves: Overlapping and appressed (Lawton 1981) or curving up and inward proximally with the tips spreading broadly when dry, spreading and with apices abruptly bent back and downward when wet, 1 mm in length, widely egg-shaped (FNA 2014) to lance-shaped with ovate tendencies (Lawton 1971), suddenly narrowing to an acumen, conspicuously folded longitudinally; margins mostly flat, seldom tightly rolled back and down below, finely saw-toothed from sharp papillae, especially apically; costa nearly the width of the acumen and vanishing close to the leaf tip (FNA 2014).

Branch Leaves: Primary branch leaves not as large as the stem leaves; costae shorter, not covered with papillae. Secondary leaves are smaller yet, ca 0.2 mm in length, their costae ending a little past mid-leaf or as short as 1/3 of the leaf length (FNA 2014).

Leaf Cells: Paraphyllia bearing papillae, chiefly at the upper ends of the cell, the end cell of each fork often sporting 2-3 papillae pointing in different directions (Crum & Anderson et al. 1981). Stem leaf laminal cells with 1 papilla on the dorsal-facing surface (FNA 2014), or basal and apical cells frequently smooth (Lawton 1971); upper laminal cells of the stem leaves diamond-shaped and sometimes somewhat elongated and rounded (FNA 2014), thick-walled (Crum & Anderson et al. 1981). Branch leaves bearing a papillose cell at the leaf tip, the cell with a somewhat squared end; branch leaf upper laminal cells diamond-shaped, incrassate, with 1 papilla on the dorsal-facing surface (Crum & Anderson et al. 1981), the apical cells frequently with 2 or more papillae (Lawton 1971).

Fruit ripens autumn through winter (FNA 2014).

On humus, damp soil and rock, less often on dead wood or bark, usually calcareous and wooded sites (Crum & Anderson et al. 1981); elevations ranging widely (FNA 2014).

Dioicous. Perichaetial leaves enlarged, to 4.2 mm in length, with finely toothed edges. Seta somewhat red, 20-42 mm tall. Capsule 2-3.5 mm in length, level, bowed (Crum & Anderson et al. 1981); endostome sections without openings; cilia of the endostome joined in 2s and 3s (FNA 2014).