Plagiotheciaceae

Plagiothecium denticulatum, photographed by Bob Klips.

Belongs within: Hypnales.

The Plagiotheciaceae are a family of mosses found worldwide, species of which grow in loose to dense mats or tufts. Though currently more diverse in the northern temperate zone, phylogenetic analysis indicates that the family may have originated in the Southern Hemisphere (Pedersen & Hedenäs 2002). Plagiothecium species are irregularly branching mosses with nerveless or two-nerved leaves and slender, oblong-cylindric capsules (Dixon 1924).

Synapomorphies (from Pedersen & Hedenäs 2002): Pseudoparaphyllia absent; rhizoids absent from stem and lowermost abaxial costa; axillary rhizoids purplish and granular-papillose; exostomes with whitish yellow basal part.

<==Plagiotheciaceae [Stereodontaceae]
    |--Catagonium Müll.Hal. 1908 SK02
    |    `--C. nitens (Brid.) Cardot 1915 (see below for synonymy) SK02
    |--Stereodon D03
    |    |--S. lechleri D03
    |    |--S. nitidus D03
    |    `--S. ptychocarpon [=Ptychomnion ptychocarpon, Stereodon ptychomnium (l. c.)] SK02
    |--Acrocladium Mitt. 1869 SK02
    |    |--A. auriculatum [incl. Hypnum auriculatum, Acroceratium auriculatum, Stereodon auriculatus] SK02
    |    |--A. chlamydophyllum (Hooker & Wilson) Müll.Hal. & Broth. 1900 (see below for synonymy) SK02
    |    |--A. morenoi D03
    |    `--A. trichocladium Bosw. 1892 SK02
    `--Plagiothecium Bruch & Schimp. 1851 SK02
         |--P. cavifolium N02
         |--P. denticulatum (Hedw.) Schimp. 1852 SK02 (see below for synonymy)
         |    |--P. d. var. denticulatum D24
         |    |--P. d. var. aptychus D24
         |    |--P. d. var. densum D24
         |    `--P. d. var. majus [incl. P. rufo-virescens] D24
         |--P. depressum [=Hypnum depressum, Isopterygium depressum, Rhynchostegium depressum] D24
         |--P. elegans [=Hypnum elegans, Isopterygium elegans; incl. Plagiothecium borrerianum] D24
         |    |--P. e. var. elegans D24
         |    `--P. e. var. collinum D24
         |--P. fuegianum D03
         |--P. laetum M08
         |    |--P. l. var. laetum M08
         |    `--P. l. var. curvifolium M08
         |--P. lamprostachys (Hampe) Jaeger 1878 [=Hypnum lamprostachys; incl. P. novae-seelandiae Broth. 1916] SK02
         |--P. latebricola [=Leskea latebricola] D24
         |    |--P. l. f. latebricola D24
         |    `--P. l. f. gemmascens D24
         |--P. leptoplumosum Dusén 1903 D03
         |--P. lucidulum D03
         |--P. lucidum (Hooker & Wilson) Paris 1897 SK02
         |--P. magellanicum D03
         |--P. muehlenbeckii [=Hypnum muehlenbeckii; incl. P. striatellum] D24
         |--P. muellerianum [=Isopterygium muelleri] D24
         |--P. neckeroideum N02
         |--P. nemorale M08
         |--P. piliferum [=Leskea pilifera] D24
         |--P. roeseanum N77
         |--P. silesiacum [=Hypnum silesiacum; incl. Isopterygium repens] D24
         |--P. silvaticum [=Hypnum sylvaticum] D24
         |    |--P. s. var. silvaticum D24
         |    |--P. s. var. orthocladum D24
         |    |--P. s. var. succulentum D24
         |    `--P. s. var. sullivantiae D24
         `--P. undulatum [=Hypnum undulatum] D24

Nomen nudum: Plagiothecium amblyostomum Müll.Hal. ex Burges 1935 SK02
             Stereodon australis Hooker & Wilson ex Muell. 1880 SK02
             Stereodon cupressiformis f. robusta Rodway 1914 SK02
             Stereodon wattsii Broth. ex Watts 1899 SK02

Acrocladium chlamydophyllum (Hooker & Wilson) Müll.Hal. & Broth. 1900 [=Hypnum chlamydophyllum, Coelidium chlamydophyllum, Lembophyllum chlamydophyllum] SK02

Catagonium nitens (Brid.) Cardot 1915 [incl. Phyllogonium elegans var. acuminatum (nom. inv.), Orthorrhynchium hampeanum, Cryptogonium hampeanum, Phyllogonium hampeanum, Orthorrhynchium hampei (n. n.), Hypnum politum, Acroceratium politum, Acrocladium politum, Catagonium politum] SK02

Plagiothecium denticulatum (Hedw.) Schimp. 1852 SK02 [=Hypnum denticulatum SK02; incl. P. denticuatum var. donii D24, P. donnianum SK02, Stereodon donnianus SK02, P. kinlayanum D24, P. denticulatum var. obtusifolium SK02, P. trichodeum D24]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[D24] Dixon, H. N. 1924. The Student's Handbook of British Mosses 3rd ed. V. V. Sumfield: Eastbourne.

[D03] Dusén, P. 1903. Patagonian and Fuegian mosses. In: Scott, W. B. (ed.) Reports of the Princeton University Expeditions to Patagonia, 1896–1899 vol. 8. Botany pp. 63–126. The University: Princeton (New Jersey).

[M08] Marstaller, R. 2008. Moosgesellschaften am Südrand des Kyffhäusergebirges bei Bad Frankenhausen (Kyffhäuserkreis). 130. Beitrag zur Moosvegetation Thüringens. Mauritiana 20 (2): 289–348.

[N02] Negi, H. R. 2002. Abundance and diversity of moss communities of Chopta-Tunganath in the Garhwal Himalaya. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 99 (3): 418–433.

[N77] Niedbała, W. 1977. Badania biocenotyczne nad mechowcami (Acari, Oribatei) Masywu Ślęży. Badania Fizjograficzne nad Polską Zachodnią, Seria C—Zoologia 30: 47–73.

Pedersen, N., & L. Hedenäs. 2002. Phylogeny of the Plagiotheciaceae based on molecular and morphological evidence. Bryologist 105 (3): 310-324.

[SK02] Streimann, H., & N. Klazenga. 2002. Catalogue of Australian Mosses. Flora of Australia Supplementary Series 17. Australian Biological Resources Study: Canberra.

Last updated: 7 January 2018.