yesterday i was looking for
Plagiomnium ciliare to draw and thought i might find some just around the house. All i could find was its relative
Plagiomnium cuspidatum or more commonly known as 'Woodsy Mnium'. The difference between the 2 species is not that striking...they both have wide leaves with teeth,
P. ciliare however has long (often several cells long) teeth that go from the tip to the base, whereas
P. cuspidatum has shorter teeth that end at the middle of the leaf. What i noticed about the plant that i found, however was the very new capsules growing which will continue to grow throughout the winter and become fully mature the following spring. i'm interested in when the capsules mature for different species and do you find old capsules along with new ones? sometimes you do...ulota and orthotrichums have that. Some species mature their capsules later in the summer such as the brachytheciums, others in the spring....
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| Plagiomnium cuspidatum Dec 7, 2011 - note the very new capsule spear |
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| capsules on march 24, almost mature |
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Plagiomnium cuspidatum leaf,
note that the teeth stop midway down |
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