Pylaisiella

• 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

  Hypnaceae

• Scientific Name

  Pylaisiella

• Description

  
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  Genus Description - Plants small to moderately robust, in extensive low, green, yellowish, or brownish, generally shiny mats. Stems creeping, firmly attached to the substrate by numerous rhizoids, in section dorsiventrally flattened and elliptic, with a weakly differentiated central strand, regularly or irregularly 1- to 2-pinnately branched; branches short, crowded, erect or ascending, usually curved. Stem and branch leaves similar (the stem leaves somewhat broader), appressed and homomallous or rarely falcate-secund when dry, erect-spreading to spreading when moist, concave, especially in the acumen, smooth, ovate- to oblong-lanceolate, short- to long-acuminate; margins plane, subentire to sermlate above; costa very short and double or lacking; cells linear-rhomboidal, smooth, those at the basal angles subquadrate in several rows. Autoicous. Perichaetial leaves ovateor oblong-lanceolate, ± long-acuminate, smooth; margins entire or sermlate in the acumen. Setae smooth; capsules erect and symmetric, oblong-cylindric to oblong-ellipsoidal; annulus consisting of 1-3 rows ofsmall cells; exothecial cells subquadrate to rounded-rectangular, uniformly thick-walled; operculum conic, obliquely short-pointed or sometimes rostrate; exostome teeth lance-subulate, pale-yellowish, smooth or indistinctly cross-striolate below, papillose above, ± bordered, trabeculate; endostome free or partially to wholly adherent to the exostome, with the basal membrane well developed to completely dissected, segments lance-subulate and about as long as the exostome teeth, keeled, perforate or split with divergent forks adhering to exostome teeth on either side, the cilia none or mdimentary. Spores nearly smooth to papillose. Calyptrae naked.

• Discussion

  Crowded, short branches that generally curve upward when dry, quadrate alar cells in triangular patches, and erect, cylindric capsules with somewhat reduced endostomes (usually more or less adherent to the exostome) are diagnostic. The plants are autoicous and generally fmited.