A Perspective Oriented Guide for the Identification of North American Moss Genera

Appendix B  --  Abbreviated Overview 

Revised through 30 June 2010

Initial Groups ("naked-eye" characters)

Plants essentially leafless; WS* Buxbaumia
Plants scattered on a bed of abundant, persistent protonemata; plants & leaves small to minute. Group A
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Plants small to minute (mostly <5 mm high) with +immersed capsules growing on bare soil, Group B
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Plants rosulate (leaves in a tight rosette at stem apex) and large (diameter 1-2 cm); WS Rhodobryum
Plants erect with clusters of branches (fascicles) along the stem & at the apex (capitulum); WS Sphagnum
Plants dendroid (erect, tree-like) or frondose (fern-like) from an unbranched stipe. Group C
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Plants with pendulous branches hanging loosely from tree branches. Group D
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Plants projecting horizontally from vertical surfaces or with upturned/curled branch tips. Group E
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Plants growing on dung, decaying animal matter, or other highly nitrogenous materials. Group F
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Freely Branched (mostly pleurocarpous) Mosses

Plants strongly flattened (complanate) or angular. Group P1
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Plants with julaceous shoots – round with crowded overlapping and appressed leaves. Group P2
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Leaves spreading at right angles (squarrose) or squarrose-recurved; leaf tips often channeled. Group P3
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Plants with erect branches from a creeping stem. Group P4
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Plants with leaves sickle-shaped and turned to one side (falcate-secund). Group P5
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Leaf and Stem Characters Section (hand lens)

Plants with paraphyllia or tomentum on stems. Group P6
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Plants with red stems. Group P7
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Plants “braided” (leaves complanate, secund & falcate). Group P8
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Leaves undulate or rugose (irregular undulations). Group P9
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Plants with dimorphic leaves. Group P10
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Leaves with awns or hair-points. Group P11
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Plants thread-like (leaves <1 mm). Group P12
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Costa Characters Section (dissecting scope)

Costa double & more than 1/3 leaf length. Group P13
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Costa single & narrow.

Leaves with distinct decurrencies.

Group P14
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Leaves with a distinct marginal border.

Group P15
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Leaves with distinct alar cells.

Group P16
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Costa short & double, or none.

Leaves with distinct decurrencies.

Group P17
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Leaves bordered.

Group P18
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Leaves with distinct alar cells.

Group P19
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Costa of uncommon or variable form. Group P20
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Leaf Cell Ratio Section (compound microscope)

Leaf cells long (>8:1).

Cells distinctly papillose or prorulose.

Group P21
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Cells smooth or indistinctly ornamented; costa single (long & narrow).

Group P22
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Cells smooth; costa double (long or short) or none.

Group P23
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Leaf cells intermediate (3-8:1).

Cells distinctly papillose or prorulose.

Group P24
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Cells smooth or indistinctly ornamented; costa single

Group P25
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Cells smooth; costa double (long or short) or none.

Group P26
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Leaf cells short (<3:1).

Cells distinctly papillose or prorulose.

Group P27
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Cells smooth or indistinctly ornamented.

Group P28
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Rarely Branched (mostly acrocarpous) Mosses

"Naked-eye" Characters

Shoots flattened or angular (2-5 ranked) in cross-section, i.e., not round. Group A1
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Shoots julaceous when wet (catkin-like; leaves crowded & appressed). Group A2
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Stems tomentose (densely covered by rhizoidal tomentum except at the growing tip). Group A3
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Stems red. Group A4
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Leaves squarrose-recurved (spreading at right angles with down-turned tips; shoots brush-like). Group A5
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Leaves falcate-secund (sickle-shaped & turned to one side; shoots broom-like). Group A6
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Leaves subulate-setaceous (awl, bristle or needle-like). Group A7
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"Hand-lens" Characters

Leaves finger-like & irregularly inserted; NW Takakia
Leaves dimorphic (two kinds on a single branch). Group A8
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Leaves with a distinct hyaline hair-point or awn on vegetative leaves. Group A9
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Leaves with lamellae, ridges or filaments on their laminae or costae. Group A10
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Leaves undulate (distinct transverse waves or ridges). Group A11
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Leaves involute (margins distinctly incurved, inrolled, spirally inrolled, or inflexed). Group A12
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"Dissecting microscope" Characters

Leaves +all costa, lacking laminae; multistratose. Group A13
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Leaves with a broad, single costa (>1/3 the leaf width). Group A14
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Leaves with a narrow, single costa.

Leaves with bases distinctly incurved to expanded & sheathing.

Group A15
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Leaves with long, pronounced decurrencies.

Group A16
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Leaves with a defined group of hyaline cells.

Group A17
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Leaves with distinct marginal border of differentiated cells.

Group A18
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Leaves with a strongly differentiated set of alar cells.

Group A19
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Leaves with costa extremely reduced to lacking. Group A20
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"Compound microscope" Characters

Leaf cells long (>5:1); cells smooth. Group A21
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Leaf cells intermediate in length (2-5:1).
Cells distinctly papillose.
Group A22
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Cells distinctly prorulose.
Group A23
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Cells smooth or indistinctly ornamented
GroupA24
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Leaf cells short (<2:1).
Cells distinctly papillose.
Group A25
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Cells smooth or indistinctly ornamented.
Group A26
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