Plants medium-sized, red-brown or sometimes pale yellow-green to yellow-brown, sometimes hoary distally. Stems with stoloniform-flagelliform branches absent. Leaves ± closely appressed-imbricate, not plicate, 0.7–1.5 mm; margins recurved to just beyond mid leaf, plane in acumen, entire to subdenticulate at apex; apex somewhat to strongly secund and spreading when dry, erect- to wide-spreading when moist, acute, ± gradually acuminate, or piliferous, opaque to translucent white, flat, papillose proximally, smooth distally; alar cells ± isodiametric, smooth to mostly 1-papillose distally, walls even, thinner than laminal cells, region concolorous, excavate; mid basal laminal cells short-rectangular, becoming long-rectangular, 1-papillose, appearing smooth, papillae not in rows, walls thick, moderately porose, region concolorous or slightly more strongly yellow to orange-yellow at insertion or to 1/5 leaf length; medial cells 1 (or 2)-papillose over lumen, papillae simple, stoutly tuberculate, walls thick, coarsely and irregularly porose; distal cells similar to and concolorous with medial cells, smooth; apical cells hyaline. Sexual condition autoicous; perichaetial leaves similar to vegetative leaves or larger, to 3 mm, margins entire. Vaginula with paraphyses many, smooth, not extending onto developing calyptra. Seta pale yellow, (4.5–)5–9(–10) mm, slender, extending beyond perichaetial leaves. Capsule exserted, yellow- to red-brown, obpyriform to turbinate when dry, ovoid-pyriform when moist, 1–1.3 mm, longitudinally sulcate-ribbed when dry, smooth when moist, mouth wide; stomata phaneroporic; operculum conic, stoutly, bluntly, and obliquely short-rostrate. Calyptra cucullate, 2.5–3 mm, covering to below mid capsule, naked. Spores 24–28 µm, finely to coarsely vermiculate-papillose.

Distribution

w North America.

Discussion

Species 1.

Often the lumina of Pseudobraunia are a brighter color than the paler, thick cell walls, darkening at the border with the hyaline apex and at the insertion. Plants of both Braunia and Pseudobraunia are more yellow or yellow-orange than those of Hedwigia, which are often a paler or richer if somewhat sordid green. Pseudobraunia has a long, flexuose filiform apical process on its leaves and exserted capsules. The hair-points on the leaves are short, broad-based, and confluent with the narrowing apex; when long they are straight to subflexuose and occur in a 1-cellular series, appearing jointed at the cell ends. In contrast, Hedwigia has a rigid, more triangular white apical region and immersed capsules. The two species of Braunia in the flora area have essentially no hyaline apical differentiation.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

Pseudobraunia californica