Pohlia andalusica
in H. G. A. Engler and K. Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. 218[I,3]: 551. 1903.
Plants small to medium-sized, green, ± glossy. Stems 0.3–3 cm. Leaves ± erect, lanceolate, 0.8–1.1 mm; margins serrulate to serrate in distal 1/3; costa subpercurrent; distal medial laminal cells rhombic to rhomboidal, 65–95 µm, walls thin. Specialized asexual reproduction usually present when sterile; axillary gemmae 2–8, obconic to oblong, shorter than leaves, yellow, pink, or green, leaf primordia usually at apex, occasionally more proximally, laminate. Sexual condition dioicous; perigonial leaves ovate; perichaetial leaves scarcely differentiated, lanceolate. Seta orange-brown. Capsule inclined 95–180°, brown to stramineous, pyriform, neck 1/3 urn length; exothecial cells short-rectangular, walls sinuate; stomata superficial; annulus present; operculum convex-conic; exostome teeth yellow-brown, narrowly triangular-acute; endostome hyaline, basal membrane 1/2 exostome length, segments distinctly keeled, broadly perforate, cilia short to rudimentary. Spores 16–21 µm, finely roughened.
Phenology: Capsules mature summer (Jun–Aug).
Habitat: Acid, gravelly or sandy disturbed soil, path banks, stream banks
Elevation: low to high elevations
Distribution
Alta., B.C., N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.W.T., N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que., Yukon, Alaska, Calif., Colo., Idaho, Maine, Mass., Mont., N.Y., Pa., Vt., Wash., Wyo., Europe.
Discussion
Plants of Pohlia andalusica have pink stems. The gemmae occur in clusters of two to six in a few distal leaf axils and are reddish brown to green or sometimes reddish yellow. The gemmae are obconic in shape, with laminate leaf primordia at the apices. Pohlia andalusica is one of the most common gemmiferous species in New England, but is much more rare in western North America.
Selected References
None.