Coscinodon calyptratus moss

This is a macro shot of a rather beautiful moss, from the Grimmiaceae family, that was growing at the Whaleback, when a group of us did the May Species Count for this area, on 31 May 2013. ID provided by Sandy Davis, Bryologist.

"The Grimmias as a group are easy to recognize—these mosses have hair tips and usually form dark green to black well-formed mounds occurring on boulders. However, identifying members of the Grimmiaceae to the species level can be very challenging and usually requires leaf cross sections. Thankfully, Coscinodon calyptratus is very common and is one of the easiest lower elevation Grimmiaceae to identify. C. calyptratus has long hair tips that can be longer than the leaf itself, and it has capsules that usually are “exserted”, which means that the stalk to the capsule (the seta) is usually as long or longer than the capsule itself such that the capsule sticks up above the level of the leaves below it. The covering over the capsule, called the “calyptra”, is long and covers the entire capsule. There are no papillae (bumps) on the cells, which look quite clear under the microscope."

www.wnmu.edu/academic/nspages/gilaflora/The%20First%20Yea...

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