Aulacomnium Heterostichum Moss
Aulacomnium heterostichum, Bruch & Schimp.Habit and habitat.- In wide palegreen tufts on shady banks and slopes in the woods.
Name.-The specific name, heterostichum, is a compound of two Greek words for; other and; rank, referring to two kinds of leaves.
Plant (gametophyte).-Stems densely covered with red-brown filaments (tomentose).
Leaves.-Inclined to one side; lower obovate, upper gradually longer and obovate-oblong, incurved on one side; apex nearly flat, obtusely pointed (apiculate); margin saw-toothed from the middle upward; vein (costa) yellow-brown, vanishing below the apex.
Habit of flowering.Male and female flowers on one plant (monoicous). The male flower-clusters, sessile along the stems, and with rootlets at the base. The inner leaves of the clusters broadly ovateconcave, abruptly pointed and veined.
Veil (calyptra). -Split up one side.
Spore-case. -Oblong, slightly incurved and inclined.
Pedicel (seta).-Short, erect.
Lid (operculum).-Convex, obtusely short-beaked.
Annulus.-Large, rolling back as the lid falls.
Teeth ( peristome ).- Large, the inner segments open, but not disjoined, cilia 2 to 3.
Spores. -Mature in June.
Distribution.-Asia, Japan, North America.