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| The moss families (Bryophyta, Musci) of Britain and Ireland |
Clay Earth-moss.
In Dixon’s Dicranaceae
Gametophyte. Acrocarpous (the capsules at first terminal, but becoming lateral by development of innovations); perennial, densely forming tufts, or forming patches. Mature plants 5–20 mm high. The leaves lanceolate to linear, or subulate; spiral; single-nerved. The leaf nerves extending beyond the middle of the leaf, but not to the tip to extending to the leaf tip; not excurrent. Leaf blade apices pointed; apically acute to acuminate; not hyaline. Leaf blade margins flat. The basal leaf cells longitudinally much elongated; rectangular; smooth. The walls of basal leaf cells thin to thick; straight. The angular cells not well differentiated. The mid-leaf cells somewhat longitudinally elongated to longitudinally much elongated; narrowly hexagonal, or rhomboidal; smooth. The walls of the mid-leaf cells thin to thick; straight.
Sporophyte. Capsules immersed; erect; symmetrical; globose (pellucid); neither flattened nor angular; without an externally conspicuous apophysis; smooth. Calyptra very thin, tearing irregularly. Capsules cleistocarpus; without a peristome. Setae short.
Ecology. More or less mesophytic. On bare, often sandy soil in moist fields, on moorland, in wood rides or by rivers.
Representation in Britain and Ireland. 1 species. Archidium. Northern Scotland, southern Scotland, northern England, English Midlands, East Anglia, Wales, southeast England, central southern England, southwest England, Isle of Wight, and Ireland.
Classification. Class Bryopsida; Subclass Dicranideae; Order Archidales.
Illustrations. • Archidium alternifolium: Dixon. ARCHIDIACEAE: Archidium alternifolium (Hedw.) Schimp.
From Dixon and Jameson (1924), the unscaled screen display 2.5 times the magnifications given with their individual figures. 1, leaf or stem leaf where these differ; 2, branch-leaf; 3, perichaetial leaf; 4, perigonial leaf; 5, capsule; 6, peristome; 7, calyptra; 8, spores; 9, inflorescence; 10, gemmae; 11, paraphyllia; 12, stoma of capsule; *, plant, or part of one. Qualifications: a, apex; b, base; c, cells at one third from the apex; cv, ventral aspect of cells; cd, dorsal aspect of cells; bc, basal cells; x, section. Archidium alternifolium. • Archidium alternifolium: Berkeley. ARCHIDIACEAE: Archidium alternifolium (Hedw.) Schimp.; a, habit; b, plant detail; c, leaf; d, capsule.
From Berkeley (1863, Plate 24). The approximate 1 cm scale applies to the whole plant (habit) illustration only.
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2005 onwards. The moss families (Bryophyta, Musci) of Britain and Ireland. Version: 5th August 2019. delta-intkey.com’.
