Friday, August 31, 2012

Bryophyte of the week

Pyrrhobryum spiniforme (Hedw.) Mitt.  

CLASS:BRYOPSIDA Rothm.
SUB CLASS : BRYIDAE Engl.SUPER ORDER : Bryanae (Engl.) Goffinet & W. R. Buck: 

ORDER:    RHIZOGONIALES Goffinet & W. R. Buck
FAMILY:  Rhizogoniaceae Broth.
GENUS:    Pyrrhobryum Mitt


Plants often appearing feathery, in loose tufts, dark green and glossy, occasionally yellowish green or brown with age. 
Stems erect, sometimes curved or curled, to 6 cm or more, solitary or occasionally branched, often grooved below; densely tomentose at base (to ca. 5 mm from base), rhizoids dark rusty-red, papillose.
 
Leaves distant on stem, crispate and curled when dry, erect-spreading to wide-spreading when wet, linear to linear-subulate, (5--)6--8 ´ 0.40--0.75 mm, somewhat concave or folded, apex often terminating in a double tooth, base undifferentiated or occasionally indistinctly decurrent; margins plane, slightly recurved at base, in transverse section 2-stratose, 1-stratose at base; laminal cells uniformly subquadrate to short-rectangular, (7--)10--14 µm; marginal basal cells quadrate to rectangular, 14--30 ´ 10 µm.

 Seta pale yellowish orange or straw-colored, 4--6 cm. 
Capsule ellipsoid-cylindric, (1.5--)2--3 mm, neck short; exothecial cells hexagonal, thick-walled; stomata several at urn base and neck; operculum 1.5--2 mm, oblique; exostome teeth reddish orange basally, pale yellow or hyaline distally, endostome segments pale yellow or hyaline, lightly papillose. 
Calyptra ca. 3.5 mm. Spores 16--18 µm.




2 comments:

  1. Earlier it was placed under the genus Rhizogonium!

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  2. Grown well in lower montane and little above ... ... ...

    ReplyDelete