Status: Native
Synonyms:
Bartramia breviseta Lindb.
Bartramia ithyphylla Brid. var. breviseta (Lindb.) Kindb.
Bartramia ithyphylla Brid. var. fragilifolia Cardot & Thér.
Bartramia ithyphylla Brid. var. strigosa (Wahlenb.) Hartm.
Bartramia ithyphylla can be quite inconspicuous unless it bears its characteristically nearly spherical sporophytes that look like staring eyes.
The nearly opaque distal leaf is very long attenuate, nearly grass-like, with the costa disappearing into the apex. The base of the
leaf is translucent hyaline to slightly brownish or orange and sheaths the stem. There is a definite shoulder on most of the
leaves, where there are rectangular cells that are frequently bulging. The mid-laminal cells are prorate distally. The distal
lamina is 2-3 stratose and makes a strange appearing bistratose cross section with prorate cells visible all along the margin.
We found Bartramia ithyphylla at about 11,000 feet elevation hiding among large boulders in
mixed conifer forest where it received no direct sunlight.
Please click on an image for a larger file.
Bartramia ithyphylla, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Taos Cty., Carson National Forest, on the trail to Williams Lake, August 7, 2015
Bartramia ithyphylla, 40x photomicrograph of long leaf with sheathing base, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Taos Cty., Carson National Forest, on the trail to Williams Lake, August 7, 2015
Bartramia ithyphylla, 400x photomicrograph of leaf shoulder, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Taos Cty., Carson National Forest, on the trail to Williams Lake, August 7, 2015
Bartramia ithyphylla, 400x photomicrograph of leaf apex, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Taos Cty., Carson National Forest, on the trail to Williams Lake, August 7, 2015
Bartramia ithyphylla, 400x photomicrograph of leaf cross section, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Taos Cty., Carson National Forest, on the trail to Williams Lake, August 7, 2015
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