Phyllodrepaniaceae

• 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

  Phyllodrepaniaceae

• Scientific Name

  Phyllodrepaniaceae

• Description

  Genus Description - Plants small to medium-sized, green to golden, in lax to dense turfs or tufts; stems mostly erect, simple to irregularly branched, com- planate-foliate on sterile stems. Leaves falcate, asymmetric, ovate to cultelliform, ± acute to short-acuminate; margins regularly serrulate to irregularly serrate, plane to strongly recurved, sometimes limbate; costa single, strongly displaced toward postical leaf margins, subper- current to short-excurrent; cells rhombic to rounded-hexagonal, smooth or unipapillose, sometimes elongate toward insertion. Asexual reproduction by tufts of brown, uniseriate, smooth propagula on stem apices. Dioicous, sporophytes rare, terminal; fertile stems not complanate, perichaetial leaves elongate. Setae elongate, smooth; capsules erect; peristome diplolepideous but single or none (?).

• Discussion

  This small family has no obvious relatives and is easily recognized by complanate-foliate sterile stems with falcate, asymmetric leaves, with the costa displaced toward the postical leaf margin.