Octoblepharum

• Authority

  Buck, William R. 2003. Guide to the plants of central french Guiana. Part 3. Mosses. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 76: 1-167.

• Family

  Leucobryaceae

• Scientific Name

  Octoblepharum

• Description

  Genus Description - Plants whitish green to yellowish and tinged with red or purple, dull or shiny, in loose or tight tufts; stems mostly sparsely branched. Leaves erect- spreading, often flexuose or reflexed above, ligulate, short - acuminate to obtuse - apiculate, sometimes fragile; margins entire to serrulate, sometime undulate above, mostly elimbate; cross- section of costa flattened or terete, with 1-4 layers of leucocysts on each side of a single layer of 3 sided chlorocysts; laminal cells in narrow marginal, basal band, mostly rectangular, often porose, hyaline. Asexual reproduction often by fragile leaves. Mostly autoicous, less often dioicous. Setae short to long; capsules erect, obling to cylindric; peristome teeth 8 or 16, variously ornamented. The pale plants, often with reddish or purplish tinges, are distinctive. The plants typically growing in direct sunlight have sturdy leaves whereas those growing in dense shade typically have fragile leaves.