I don't often seem to find an Encalypta with capsules, so was pleased to find one the other day on Mynydd Llangorse (well actually on the rocky outcrops on Cockit Hill; I'm not fit enough for mountains these days!). It was tucked away in a crevice on a rocky slope below the main 'cliffs'.
I think it's E. ciliata, although the calyptrae don't seem to be ciliate - but it seems to fit in other respects. Fortunately it had both old and new capsules,
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| Moist capsule is smooth |
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| Peristome teeth are short and seem quite fragile |
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One spore looked papillose but the vast majority were ridged
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| The base of the calyptra from below - looks intact, not ciliate? |
I'm wondering whether the new capsules are just too immature to have developed the cilia around the calyptrae. They are very young. Unless there's anything else it could be?
That looks correct, Claire - a nice find. The base of the calyptra will split into cilia as the capsule ripens. You've got the intact young version of the basal membrane there.
ReplyDeleteThanks again Sam. I thought that might be the case, but the books only mention the cilia being lost from older specimens, not the reverse i.e. not yet developed in young ones.
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