Amblystegium serpens (Hedw.) Schimp.
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Authority
Buck, William R. 1998. Pleurocarpous mosses of the West Indies. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 82: 1-400.
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Family
Amblystegiaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Plants small and slender, in dull, usually yellow-green, sometimes bright- or dark-green, mostly dense, sometimes ± wiry mats. Stems creeping, to ca. 3 cm long, irregularly but freely branched, the branches ascending or erect, flexuose; in crosssection with 3-4 rows of small thick-walled cells surrounding larger thin-walled cells, central strand small but well developed, of small thin-walled cells; paraphyllia absent; pseudoparaphyllia foliose, small; axillary hairs with a single short brown basal cell and a single elongate hyaline distal cell. Stem and branch leaves similar, erect to erect-spreading when dry, erect- to wide-spreading when moist, symmetric, not falcate-secund, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, (0.45-)0.6-0.8(-1) mm long, gradually and mostly long-acuminate, sometimes concave; margins serrulate in the upper 2/3, entire below, plane; costa single, relatively thin, ending at or near midleaf, occasionally slightly beyond; cells long-rhomboidal to long-hexagonal, 3-5:1, smooth, thin- to firm-walled, sometimes longer in the acumen, becoming longer and broader toward the insertion; alar cells relatively numerous, subquadrate to oblate, extending up the margins to area of maximum leaf width. Asexual propagula none. Autoicous. Perichaetia greatly enlarged, conspicuous; leaves erect, oblong-lanceolate, 1-1.5 mm long, ± abruptly short-acuminate; margins serrulate, plane or rarely erect; costa single, strong and subpercurrent to absent; cells long-hexagonal to long-rectangular, 5-10:1, smooth, becoming broader toward the insertion. Setae elongate, smooth, reddish, 0.9-2.5(-3.5) cm long, twisted above; capsules suberect to strongly inclined, arcuate, asymmetric, cylindric, 1.5-2(-3) mm long, usually constricted below the mouth when dry; exothecial cells short-rectangular, firm-walled, slightly wavy-walled, not collenchymatous, stomata long-pored; annulus of 2-3 rows of thin-walled, deciduous cells; operculum conic-apiculate; exostome teeth yellow-brown, shouldered, bordered, on the front surface cross-striolate below, coarsely papillose above, trabeculate at back; endostome with a high or rarely low basal membrane, segments roughened, keeled, perforate, as long as or slightly longer than the teeth, cilia in groups of 0-3, nodulose. Spores spherical, finely papillose, 10-18 µm diam. Calyptrae cucullate, naked, smooth.
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Discussion
1. Amblystegium serpens (Hedw.) Schimp. in Bruch, Schimp. & W. Gümbel, Bryol. Eur. 6(fasc. 55-56, Monogr. 1): 53. 1853; Hypnum serpens Hedw., Sp. Muse. Frond. 268. 1801; Stereodon serpens (Hedw.) Brid., Bryol. Univ. 824. 1827, comb, inval. Plate 81, figures 9-15 Discussion. Amblystegium serpens is characterized by leaves with a costa ending about midleaf and upper leaf cells 3-5:1. It is quite variable in its expressions but usually recognizable. Only two collections have been seen from the West Indies, both from Haiti. The only fertile material (Buck 9383, NY) is atypical in that the inner perichaetial leaves are ecostate, the basal membrane is relatively low, and cilia are lacking. Vegetatively it is indistinguishable from North American material of A. serpens.
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Distribution
Range. Throughout North America, Mexico, Ecuador, Chile, Europe, northern Africa, northern and central Asia, Himalaya, Australia; Hispaniola (Haiti); growing on bases of trees, logs, soil, and rock, in moderately dry to moderately wet (but not inundated) habitats, at 300-1500 m.
North America| Ecuador South America| Chile South America| Europe| Algeria Africa| Egypt Africa| Libya Africa| Morocco Africa| Tunisia Africa| Russia Asia| Kazakhstan Europe| Kyrgyzstan Europe| Tajikistan Europe| Turkmenistan Europe| Uzbekistan Europe| Australia Oceania| India Asia| Pakistan Asia| Nepal Asia| Bhutan Asia| China Asia| Haiti South America| Dominican Republic South America|