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An Orthotrichum Moss - Orthotrichum affine
General Description
Plants: Acrocarpous (Vitt 1988), growing in loose clumps or cushions of upright shoots (FNA 2014), green, sometimes with yellow tones (Lawton 1971) or brownish-green (Crum & Anderson et al., 1981). Stems sometimes reaching 30 mm in height (FNA 2014), occasionally forked (Lawton 1971).
Leaves: Straight and imbricate when dry, spreading, sometimes broadly, when damp, 2-4 mm in length, lance-shaped with ovate tendencies to strap-shaped (FNA 2014), narrowing to the acute or somewhat broader-angled leaf tip (Lawton 1971); leaf edges smooth, curved or tightly rolled back nearly to the leaf apex (FNA 2014); costa reaching or almost reaching the leaf tip (Lawton 1971).
Leaf Cells: Upper laminal cells chlorophyllous (Crum & Anderson et al., 1981), somewhat round and isodiametric (FNA 2014), sometimes elongated, with 1 or 2 (Lawton 1971) cone-shaped or 2-lobed papillae over each lumen, arranged in 1 layer; lower laminal cells quadrangular and long with thick, knobby walls (FNA 2014).
Range Comments
North American Range
BC and AB, s to CA, UT, and MT, also CO (FNA 2014). Known in Montana from Broadwater, Carbon, Fergus, Flathead, Gallatin, Glacier, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Madison, Missoula, Ravalli, Sanders, Sweet Grass, and Teton Counties (Elliott & Pipp, 2016).
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 39
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Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density
Recency
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Habitat
Tree trunks, rarely stone, in forests along streams, in gorges and mountains (Crum & Anderson et al., 1981). Occurring from lowlands to about 9840 feet (FNA 2014).
Reproductive Characteristics
Autoicous. Seta twisted (FNA 2014), typically not as long as the capsule (Lawton 1971), 1-2.2 mm tall. Capsule to 2.5 mm in length, partially emerged (halfway or more) or entirely exposed just slightly beyond the perichaetial bracts, with 8 prominent longitudinal ribs; exostome of 8 upright teeth (curving or bent back and downward with age), faintly papillose; endostome processes 8, seldom 16, with papillae. Calyptra cone-shaped, sheltering the full length of the capsule, with hairs sparse and papillose (FNA 2014).
Stewardship Responsibility
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend:
View Online Publication
Crum, H.A. and L.E. Anderson. 1981. Mosses of Eastern North America. 2 volumes. Columbia University Press, New York. 1328 pp.- Elliott, J.C. and A.K. Pipp. 2018. A Checklist of Montana Mosses (1880-2018). Updated 3 January, 2020. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Helena, Montana. 73 pp.
- Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 2014. Flora of North America North of Mexico. Volume 28. Bryophytes: Mosses, Part 2. Oxford University Press, Inc., NY. xxi + 702 pp.
- Lawton, E. 1971. Moss Flora of the Pacific Northwest. Hattori Botanical Laboratory. Japan: Yamabuki-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo. 362 pages plus appendices.
- Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
Do you know of a citation we're missing?- Elliot, J. C. 1993. Second checklist of Montana mosses. Unpublished report. U.S. Forest Service, Region 1. Missoula, MT. 45 pp.
- Flowers, S. 1973. Mosses: Utah and the West. Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. 567 p.
- Lawton, E. 1971. Keys for the Identification of the Mosses on the Pacific Northwest. Reprinted from 'Moss Flora of the Pacific Northwest'. Published as Supplement No. 2 of the Journal of the Hattori Botanical Laboratory. Nichinan, Miyazaki, Japan. 66 pp.
- Malcolm, B., N. Malcolm, J. Shevock, and D. Norris. 2009. California Mosses. Nelson, New Zealand: Micro-Optics Press. 430 pp.
- Smith, A.J.E. 1980. The Moss Flora of Britain and Ireland. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 705 pp.
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