Monday, 15 December 2014

Another Schistidium query

I finally got around to looking at a Schistidium collected from the Taff riverbank in Cardiff, which I alluded to in a previous post on 4th December. It was growing on a poplar trunk in the flood zone (or just above it). Photos below.

Most of the leaves lack hair points but a few have them - these are toothed (see pic). I thought it might be apocarpum, due to the toothed hair points and long capsules, but the lack of hair points on most leaves concerns me.  In this respect it more closely resembles platyphyllum, but the leaves seem too narrow for that (certainly narrower than my previous example of it which Sam identified).








Any comments welcome!

Thanks
George

3 comments:

  1. I forgot to mention crassipilum as a possibility.

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  2. I'm sure that's apocarpum. S crasspilum is near pointless and as you say plattyphyylum is broad leaved

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  3. Great, thanks Sam. That's a new species for me. I note there is no mention of apocarpum as an epiphyte in the Carms and Pembs floras, nor in the new atlas, though Smith does say 'rarely on trees'.

    I'm a bit confused about your crassipilum 'near pointless' comment. I thought that species usually had long hair points?

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