Tortula princeps De Not.

  • Authority

    Sharp, Aaron J., et al. 1994. The Moss Flora of Mexico. Part One: Sphagnales to Bryales. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 69 (1): 1-452.

  • Family

    Pottiaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Tortula princeps De Not.

  • Description

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    Species Description - Plants small to rather large, 5-20 mm high, in loose or dense, reddish-green tufts. Leaves usually in distinct whorls, infolded, somewhat contorted, and weakly to strongly twisted around the stem when dry, wide-spreading to slightly recurved when moist, 2-4 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, concave, spatulate, acute or sometimes truncate; margins revolute in the lower 1/2 to 3/4, entire; costa strong, red, often strongly papillose at back and serrulate near the apex because of projecting cell ends, excurrent into a long, serrate, hyaline awn (reddish at base); upper cells 12-17 µm, quadrate to hexagonal, slightly bulging, bearing 4-6 papillae per cell; basal cells abruptly differentiated, long-rectangular, 45-80 x 20-30 µm, short-rectangular to quadrate at the margins. Synoicous, autoicous, or dioicous. Setae 10-18 mm long, red; capsules 3-4 mm long, shghtiy curved, with a distinct neck, brownish-red; operculum 1.5-2 mm long, brown; peristome ca. 1.5 mm long, the upper divisions red, twisted about 2 turns, the basal membrane white, 1/2-2/3 the total length. Spores 9-13 µm, papillose. Calyptrae 4-4.5 mm long, brown.

  • Discussion

    Fig. 256

    T. princeps De Not., Mem. Reale Accad. Sci. Torino 40: 288. 1838.

    Recognition of Tortula princeps has become more troublesome since the discovery that synoicy cannot always be used to define the species (Lightowlers, 1985). When present, the synoicous condition is diagnostic, but otherwise one must rely on wider basal leaf cells and the anatomy of costa and stem to separate this species from T. ruralis, T. papilio sis sima, and T. norvegica, and more acute leaves with cells generally smaller and costa reddish and serrulate separate it from T. obtusissima.

    Plants from Baja California reported as T. ruralis var. crinita by Bowers et al. (1976) are actually small, dioicous forms of T. princeps.

  • Distribution

    Occasional on humus, soil, and rock (also on trees in southern California), at low to medium elevations; Baja California and Nuevo Leon (Cerro Potosi, Whittemore 2715, MEXU).—Mexico; western North America; western and southern South America; Europe; western Asia; North and South Africa; Hawaii; Australia, New Zealand; Antarctica.

    Antarctica| New Zealand Australia Oceania| Hawaii United States of America North America| Africa| Asia| Europe| South America| North America| Mexico North America|