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A Perspective Oriented Guide for the Identification of North American Moss Genera
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Appendix B -- Abbreviated Overview
Revised through 30 June 2010
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Initial Groups ("naked-eye" characters) |
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| Plants essentially leafless; WS* | Buxbaumia |
| Plants scattered on a bed of abundant, persistent protonemata; plants & leaves small to minute. | Group A Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Plants small to minute (mostly <5 mm high) with +immersed capsules growing on bare soil, | Group B Sub Guide | Skeleton |
| 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 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Plants with pendulous branches hanging loosely from tree branches. | Group D Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Plants projecting horizontally from vertical surfaces or with upturned/curled branch tips. | Group E Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Plants growing on dung, decaying animal matter, or other highly nitrogenous materials. | Group F Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
Freely Branched (mostly pleurocarpous) Mosses |
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| Plants strongly flattened (complanate) or angular. | Group P1 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Plants with julaceous shoots – round with crowded overlapping and appressed leaves. | Group P2 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Leaves spreading at right angles (squarrose) or squarrose-recurved; leaf tips often channeled. | Group P3 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Plants with erect branches from a creeping stem. | Group P4 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Plants with leaves sickle-shaped and turned to one side (falcate-secund). | Group P5 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
Leaf and Stem Characters Section (hand lens) |
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| Plants with paraphyllia or tomentum on stems. | Group P6 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Plants with red stems. | Group P7 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Plants “braided” (leaves complanate, secund & falcate). | Group P8 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Leaves undulate or rugose (irregular undulations). | Group P9 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Plants with dimorphic leaves. | Group P10 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Leaves with awns or hair-points. | Group P11 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Plants thread-like (leaves <1 mm). | Group P12 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
Costa Characters Section (dissecting scope) |
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| Costa double & more than 1/3 leaf length. | Group P13 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Costa single & narrow. | |
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Group P14 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
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Group P15 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
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Group P16 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Costa short & double, or none. | |
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Group P17 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
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Group P18 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
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Group P19 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Costa of uncommon or variable form. | Group P20 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
Leaf Cell Ratio Section (compound microscope) |
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| Leaf cells long (>8:1). | |
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Group P21 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
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Group P22 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
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Group P23 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Leaf cells intermediate (3-8:1). | |
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Group P24 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
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Group P25 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
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Group P26 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Leaf cells short (<3:1). | |
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Group P27 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
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Group P28 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
Rarely Branched (mostly acrocarpous) Mosses |
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"Naked-eye" Characters |
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| Shoots flattened or angular (2-5 ranked) in cross-section, i.e., not round. | Group A1 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Shoots julaceous when wet (catkin-like; leaves crowded & appressed). | Group A2 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Stems tomentose (densely covered by rhizoidal tomentum except at the growing tip). | Group A3 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Stems red. | Group A4 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Leaves squarrose-recurved (spreading at right angles with down-turned tips; shoots brush-like). | Group A5 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Leaves falcate-secund (sickle-shaped & turned to one side; shoots broom-like). | Group A6 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Leaves subulate-setaceous (awl, bristle or needle-like). | Group A7 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
"Hand-lens" Characters |
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| Leaves finger-like & irregularly inserted; NW | Takakia |
| Leaves dimorphic (two kinds on a single branch). | Group A8 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Leaves with a distinct hyaline hair-point or awn on vegetative leaves. | Group A9 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Leaves with lamellae, ridges or filaments on their laminae or costae. | Group A10 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Leaves undulate (distinct transverse waves or ridges). | Group A11 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Leaves involute (margins distinctly incurved, inrolled, spirally inrolled, or inflexed). | Group A12 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
"Dissecting microscope" Characters |
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| Leaves +all costa, lacking laminae; multistratose. | Group A13 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Leaves with a broad, single costa (>1/3 the leaf width). | Group A14 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Leaves with a narrow, single costa. | |
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Group A15 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
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Group A16 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
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Group A17 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
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Group A18 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
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Group A19 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Leaves with costa extremely reduced to lacking. | Group A20 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
"Compound microscope" Characters |
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| Leaf cells long (>5:1); cells smooth. | Group A21 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Leaf cells intermediate in length (2-5:1). | |
Cells distinctly papillose. |
Group A22 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
Cells distinctly prorulose. |
Group A23 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
Cells smooth or indistinctly ornamented |
GroupA24 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
| Leaf cells short (<2:1). | |
Cells distinctly papillose. |
Group A25 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |
Cells smooth or indistinctly ornamented. |
Group A26 Sub-Guide | Skeleton |