Plagiothecium conostegium Herzog

  • Authority

    Sharp, Aaron J., et al. 1994. The Moss Flora of Mexico. Part Two: Orthotrichales to Polytrichales. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 69 (2)

  • Family

    Plagiotheciaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Plagiothecium conostegium Herzog

  • Description

    Deprecated: mb_convert_encoding(): Handling HTML entities via mbstring is deprecated; use htmlspecialchars, htmlentities, or mb_encode_numericentity/mb_decode_numericentity instead in /home/emu/nybgweb/www-dev/htdocs/science-dev/wp-content/themes/nybgscience/lib/VHMonographsDetails.php on line 179

    Species Description - Stems up to 3 cm long and 2-3 mm wide, simple or sparsely branched. Leaves closely spaced, spreading to wide-spreading, 1.5 mm long, 0.5-0.8 mm wide near the middle, gradually or ± abmptly short-acuminate, slightly concave; margins plane or narrowly recurved below; median cells 90-136 x 9-14 µm, shorter near the apex; decurrent alar regions large and distinct, consisting of 5-8 quadrate to rectangular cells, enlarged and inflated, extending down the stem in 2-3 rows. [Sex organs and sporophytes not seen in Mexican material. Reported to be autoicous and possibly dioicous with setae 15-25 mm long, capsules ca. 2 mm long, operculum short-rostrate, and spores 12—15 µm in diameter.]

  • Discussion

    Fig. 718

    P. conostegium Herz., Biblioth. Bot. 87: 154. 1916.

    Plagiothecium conostegium is readily distinguished by large leaf decurrencies that are composed of 5-8 enlarged and inflated, quadrate to rectangular cells extending down the stem in 2-3 rows. The long decurrencies contrast with the small and indistinct ones of P. drepanophyllum.

  • Distribution

    On rock bluffs at high elevations (3140 m); Distrito Federal and Mexico.—Mexico; Guatemala; Dominican Republic; northern Andes; Tierra del Fuego.

    Mexico North America| Guatemala Central America| Dominican Republic South America| Ecuador South America| Colombia South America| Chile South America| Argentina South America|