Seligeria pusilla

(Hedwig) Bruch & Schimper

Bryol. Europ. 2: 10. 1846,.

Basionym: Weissia pusilla Hedwig Sp. Musc. Frond., 64. 1801
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 27. Treatment on page 324. Mentioned on page 321, 322.

Plants delicate, light green. Leaves linear, sometimes from slightly widened base, gradually narrowed, slenderly acute; costa ending just below apex; margins entire to ± crenulate; leaf cells (2–)3:1; perichaetial leaves acuminate from ovate sheathing base. Seta 1.5–3 mm, slender, long, flexuose. Capsule oblong-ovate to ovate-pyriform when old; peristome of 16 well-developed teeth; columella immersed. Spores 10–13 µm.


Habitat: Calcareous cliffs

Distribution

V27 448-distribution-map.gif

Nunavut, Alaska, Ark., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Ky., Minn., Mo., Ohio, Tenn., Wis., Europe, Asia.

Discussion

Seligeria pusilla is a rare species with a highly scattered distribution, having occurrences in northern Alaska, Ellesmere Island, and in temperate eastern North America from Minnesota south and east to Tennessee. It has linear leaves with a relatively narrow costa that does not fill the apex. The acute leaf tips have cells that are thin-walled and somewhat longer than wide. The plants are light green and have a delicate aspect to them. Seligeria brevifolia and S. acutifolia both have differentiated perichaetial leaves whereas S. pusilla has capsules surrounded by leaves similar to (although somewhat longer than) those farther down the stem.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.