Status: Native
Synonyms:
Grimmia cribrosa Hedwig
Coscinodon cribrosus is a lower elevation arid land moss with long hair points and incurved margins. The key to identification is noting the unusual leaf striations that correspond to the plications seen on cross section. The leaf cross sections have an appearance shared only by one or two other of the Grimmiaceae, with the medial half of the lamina being unistratose and the lateral half of the lamina being bistratose. The junction of the unistratose and bistratose portions of the lamina is marked by a 90 degree upwards turn, creating the plication on either side and giving rise to the striations. We found Coscinodon cribrosus in the Peloncillos before we found it in the Gila, so there are more pix under Coscinodon cribrosus in the "outside the Gila" section. We found it growing on rhyolite in the Gila at Mineral Creek, with cube-shaped garnet crystals embedded right next to the moss stems.
Please click on an image for a larger file.
Coscinodon cribrosus, 4x macro of dry habit, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred & Karen Blisard, Catron Cty., Mineral Creek, Gila Nat. Forest, February 18, 2015
Coscinodon cribrosus, 40x dark field photomicrocraph of stem, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred & Karen Blisard, Catron Cty., Mineral Creek, Gila Nat. Forest, February 18, 2015
Coscinodon cribrosus, 100x photomicrocraph of leaf, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred & Karen Blisard, Catron Cty., Mineral Creek, Gila Nat. Forest, February 18, 2015
Coscinodon cribrosus, 400x photomicrocraph of leaf cross section, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred & Karen Blisard, Catron Cty., Mineral Creek, Gila Nat. Forest, February 18, 2015
Coscinodon cribrosus, photomicrocraph of somewhat more distal leaf cross section, photo Kelly Allred, Catron Cty., Mineral Creek, Gila Nat. Forest, February 18, 2015
Coscinodon cribrosus, 400x photomicrocraph of distal leaf cross section, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred & Karen Blisard, Catron Cty., Mineral Creek, Gila Nat. Forest, February 18, 2015
Garnet crystals in same substrate as Coscinodon cribrosus, 4x macro, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred & Karen Blisard, Catron Cty., Mineral Creek, Gila Nat. Forest, February 18, 2015
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