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Oeder's Apple Moss - Plagiopus oederianus
Other Names:
Plagiopus oederiana
General Description
Plants: Growing in crowded clumps, olivaceous to brown, not glossy (FNA 2014), 2-10 cm in height (Crum & Anderson et al., 1981). Stems upright or curving upwards, with branches sometimes forked once, with a hyalodermis and central strand, the cortical cells swelling when wet, in X-section the stem deltoid; rhizoids forming a tangled cover below, papillose (FNA 2014).
Leaves: Three-ranked, curved or twisted slightly and loosely upright when dry, spreading to ca 45 degrees (FNA 2014) or more widely when moist (Vitt 1988), 2-3.5 mm in length, lance-shaped and slender, strongly folded above; leaf edges frequently double saw-toothed above, rolled back and under most of the way; costa extending to the leaf tip or slightly beyond it (FNA 2014), the dorsal face saw-toothed distally (Crum & Anderson et al., 1981).
Leaf Cells: Lamina 1 cell-layer thick except frequently 2 cell-layers thick in the margins above (FNA 2014), the cells with tiny, cuticular lumps on the exterior cell surface (Vitt 1988); upper laminal cells nearly square or lengthened a little longitudinally, weakly ridged longitudinally (FNA 2014), not papillose (Crum & Anderson et al., 1981), becoming longer proximally, the walls thick; basal laminal cells with finer walls than those above (FNA 2014).
Phenology
Fruit ripens through the summer (FNA 2014).
Diagnostic Characteristics
The combination of deltoid stems (in X-section), lax stem cortical cells, and longitudinally-ridged upper laminal cells are important identifying characters (Crum & Anderson et al., 1981).
Range Comments
North American Range
AK, NT and NU, BC and AB s to OR, ID, and MT, also CO, ON to NL and NS, MN and IA e and ne to ME, also PA and VA (FNA 2014). Known in Montana from Flathead, Lake, and Lincoln Counties (Elliott & Pipp, 2016).
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 10
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Relative Density
Recency
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Habitat
Frequently on calcareous stone, in fissures and cracks of vertical cliffs (Crum & Anderson et al., 1981), humus, in slow, shallow springs. Elevation: 660-12,800 feet (FNA 2014).
Reproductive Characteristics
Female and male structures intermingled. Seta single, 7-18 mm tall, sometimes a little bent or twisted (FNA 2014). Capsule 1-2 mm in length (Crum & Anderson et al., 1981), 16-ribbed (Vitt 1988), grooved when dry, with a small opening; exostome sections 16, lance-shaped, russet, sometimes with tiny papillae; endostome transparent or yellow. Calyptra draping cowl-like, not hairy (FNA 2014).
Stewardship Responsibility
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend:
View Online Publication
Crum, H.A. and L.E. Anderson. 1981. Mosses of Eastern North America. 2 volumes. Columbia University Press, New York. 1328 pp.- Elliott, J.C. and A.K. Pipp. 2018. A Checklist of Montana Mosses (1880-2018). Updated 3 January, 2020. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Helena, Montana. 73 pp.
- Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 2014. Flora of North America North of Mexico. Volume 28. Bryophytes: Mosses, Part 2. Oxford University Press, Inc., NY. xxi + 702 pp.
- Vitt, D. J. Marsh, and R. Bovey. 1988. Mosses, Lichens & Ferns of Northwest North America. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. 296 p.
- Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
Do you know of a citation we're missing?- Elliot, J. C. 1993. Second checklist of Montana mosses. Unpublished report. U.S. Forest Service, Region 1. Missoula, MT. 45 pp.
- Lawton, E. 1971. Keys for the Identification of the Mosses on the Pacific Northwest. Reprinted from 'Moss Flora of the Pacific Northwest'. Published as Supplement No. 2 of the Journal of the Hattori Botanical Laboratory. Nichinan, Miyazaki, Japan. 66 pp.
- Lawton, E. 1971. Moss Flora of the Pacific Northwest. Hattori Botanical Laboratory. Japan: Yamabuki-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo. 362 pages plus appendices.
- Malcolm, B., N. Malcolm, J. Shevock, and D. Norris. 2009. California Mosses. Nelson, New Zealand: Micro-Optics Press. 430 pp.
- Smith, A.J.E. 1980. The Moss Flora of Britain and Ireland. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 705 pp.
- Web Search Engines for Articles on "Oeder's Apple Moss"
