Calliergonella cuspidata (Hedw.) Loeske

  • Authority

    Buck, William R. 1998. Pleurocarpous mosses of the West Indies. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 82: 1-400.

  • Family

    Hypnaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Calliergonella cuspidata (Hedw.) Loeske

  • Description

    Species Description - Plants rather robust, in somewhat stiff, lustrous, green, yellow-green, or brownish tufts or loose mats. Stems ascending or erect, to ca. 15 cm long (sometimes longer in aquatic forms), irregularly pinnately branched, the stem and branch apices cuspidate; in cross-section with a single-layered hyalodermis, over 3-5 rows of small thick-walled cells surrounding larger thin-walled cells, central strand small, of small, nodulose-walled cells; paraphyllia absent; pseudoparaphyllia foliose, large; axillary hairs with a single short brown basal cell and (2-)3-4(-5) elongate hyaline distal cells. Stem and branch leaves somewhat differentiated, the stem leaves mostly erect, ovate-triangular to oblong-ovate, 1.5-2(-2.3) mm long, gradually acute to obtuse-apiculate, concave, auriculate; margins entire or crenulate, mostly incurved above, plane below; costa short and double, rarely absent; cells linear-flexuose, smooth, firm-walled, not at all or scarcely porose, becoming somewhat shorter in the extreme apex, becoming shorter, long-rectangular, and ± porose toward the insertion; alar cells conspicuously and abruptly differentiated in hyaline, inflated auricles, usually in 6-8 rows, each row of 2-4 cells, with 1-3 rows of small subquadrate cells above them. Branch leaves erect to erect-spreading, oblong-lanceolate, 1-1.7(-2) mm long, gradually acute, short-apiculate, concave, auriculate; margins entire, plane or more often incurved above, plane below; costa short and double, rarely absent; cells linear-flexuose, smooth, firm-walled, not at all or scarcely porose, becoming somewhat shorter in the extreme apex, becoming shorter, long-rectangular, and porose toward the insertion; alar cells conspicuously and abruptly differentiated in hyaline, inflated auricles, usually in 5-7 rows, each row of 1-3 cells, with 1-2 rows of small subquadrate cells above them. Asexual propagula none. Dioicous. [Sporophytes not known from the West Indies; description based on North American material.] Perichaetia conspicuous; leaves erect, linear-lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, 3.4-4.3(-6) mm long, ± abruptly acute to short-acuminate, strongly plicate; margins entire or serrulate at the shoulders, plane; costa none; cells linear, smooth, thick-walled, slightly porose, becoming shorter, broader, and thinner-walled toward the insertion. Setae very long, stout, smooth, reddish, 3.5-7 cm long, twisted; capsules inclined, arcuate, asymmetric, cylindric, 2.5-3(-4) mm long, wrinkled when dry; exothecial cells short-rectangular, thick-walled, ± collenchymatous; annulus of 2-4 rows of small, irregularly shaped cells, firm-walled near capsule mouth, thinner-walled above, deciduous; operculum high conic-apiculate; exostome teeth shouldered, bordered, on the front surface cross-striolate below, coarsely papillose above, trabeculate at back; endostome finely papillose throughout, with a high basal membrane, segments keeled, narrowly perforate, cilia in groups of 2-4, nodulose. Spores spherical, finely papillose, 14-22 µm diam. Calyptrae not seen.

  • Discussion

    1. Calliergonella cuspidata (Hedw.) Loeske, Hedwigia 50: 248. 1911; Hypnum cuspidatum Hedw., Sp. Musc. Frond. 254. 1801; Stereodon cuspidatus (Hedw.) Brid., Bryol. Univ. 2: 824. 1827, comb, inval., (Hedw.) Mitt., J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 8: 42. 1865; Acrocladium cuspidatum (Hedw.) Lindb., Musci Scand. 39. 1879; Calliergon cuspidatum (Hedw.) Kindb., Canad. Rec. Sci. 6: 72. 1894. Plate 87, figures 9-18 Discussion. Calliergonella cuspidata is a very distinctive species and unlikely to be confused with any other local species. The short and double costa and conspicuous alar cells will serve to distinguish it microscopically, while the wet habitat and cuspidate branch and stem tips are obvious macroscopic characters. Karczmarz (1971) recognized many infraspecific taxa within Calliergonella cuspidata (sub Calliergon). One of these, Calliergon cuspidatum var. fluitans (Wamst.) Warnst., was reported from Jamaica (Harris 11190, NY!, S-PA). It is nothing more than a submerged form of Calliergonella cuspidata and not worthy of taxonomic recognition.

  • Distribution

    Range. Northern North America, Ecuador, Europe, Macaronesia, northern Africa, northern and central Asia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand; Jamaica; in our flora growing on soil, mostly in cloud-drenched, grassy areas, rarely submerged, above 1000 m. All the numerous Jamaican collections come from the vicinity of Cinchona, an area of cultivated plant introduction. Since C. cuspidata is otherwise unknown in the West Indies, has no obvious specialized vegetative reproduction, and is dioicous, it seems

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