Anoectangium Moss (Anoectangium aestivum)
Description
This species forms conspicuous, bright green cushions and turfs several centimetres in depth, although individual shoots are only 1-1.5 cm long. The lower part of the shoots is pale yellow-brown with a felt of brown rhizoids. The leaves are 1-1.5 mm long, keeled and narrowly oblong to egg-shaped (4-6 times as long as wide), almost parallel-sided below, but taper gradually in the upper half to a sharp point. The nerve ends in or shortly below the leaf tip. Dry leaves become moderately crisped (each is spirally twisted, but not around the shoot). Under a hand lens, the leaf looks opaque because of the roughened cells (microscope), which also cause the bright colour. The elliptically shaped capsules are rare; they lack a peristome.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Bryophyta
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Class: Bryopsida
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Order: Pottiales
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Family: Pottiaceae
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Genus: Anoectangium
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