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Atrichum angustatum - (image 1 of 6)

Taxonomy

Family: Polytrichaceae

Habitat

Open, disturbed, often sandy soils, e.g. dry bare mounds in woods, on road banks, poor lawns.

Associates

Distribution

Newfoundland to Manitoba, south to the Gulf of Mexico; also found in Europe and Asia.

Morphology

Plants 1-2 cm high. Leaves undulate, toothed at back of lamina and costa, bordered, doubly serrate, more or less concave near the tip; lamellae restricted to the costa, more or less wavy, 5-14 cells high, obscuring as much as half of the upper third of the leaf; upper leaf cells 9-19 um wide, thick-walled, more or less isodiametric. Capsules cylindric, not angled; calyptra naked.

Notes

The generic name Atrichum refers to the lack of long hairs covering the calyptra, unlike mosses in the genus Polytrichum (haircap mosses). According to Crum, A. undulatum is a diploid or triploid expression of A. angustatum, with the two therefore forming a haploid-diploid species pair. The antheridia of A. augustatum are said to be produced one year and archegonia in the next year.

References

Crum, H. 2004. Mosses of the Great Lakes Forest, 4th ed.

The University of Michigan Herbarium. Ann Arbor, MI

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