Status: Native
Synonyms:
Fissidens obtusifolius Wilson var. apiculatus Grout
Fissidens sublimbatus was only recently reported in New Mexico by Ron Pursell in 2007. It was subsequently found in 2013 on White Sand Missile Range, and now has also been found in
Saddlerock Canyon and elsewhere in the Gila National Forest. The habitat preference seems to be for loose sand on or around rock alongside creeks in arid hills. F. sublimbatus is a small, distichous moss (leaves come out from opposite sides of the stem) with two kinds of stems (dimorphic)-- sterile stems that are usually larger and have more leaves than the fertile ones. The leaves have a costa that ends just before the apex. There is a single celled apiculus. Unlike F. crispus and F. bryoides, there is no margin (limbidium) on the dorsal lamina of F. sublimbatus. The vaginant lamina usually has a limbidium, but it can be weak or absent.
Please click on an image for a larger file.
Fissidens sublimbatus, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Grant County, Hell's Half Acre, March 23, 2020
Fissidens sublimbatus (dry), photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Burro Mountains, Saddlerock Canyon, January 8, 2014
Fissidens sublimbatus (dry), 5x macro of stem, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Burro Mountains, Saddlerock Canyon, January 8, 2014
Fissidens sublimbatus (dry), 3x macro of habit, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Burro Mountains, Saddlerock Canyon, January 8, 2014
Fissidens sublimbatus, 100x photomicrograph of leaf, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Burro Mountains, Saddlerock Canyon, January 8, 2014
Fissidens sublimbatus, 400x photomicrograph of weak limbidium on vaginant lamina, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Burro Mountains, Saddlerock Canyon, January 8, 2014
Fissidens sublimbatus, 200x photomicrograph of leaf apex, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Burro Mountains, Saddlerock Canyon, January 8, 2014
Fissidens sublimbatus, 40x photomicrograph of fertile stem (center) and 2 sterile stems (top and bottom) demonstrating dimorphism, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Burro Mountains, Saddlerock Canyon, January 8, 2014
Fissidens sublimbatus, 5x macro of capsule and peristome with base of each tooth splitting into two long segments, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Burro Mountains, Saddlerock Canyon, January 8, 2014
Back to the Index