Status: Native
Synonyms:
Bryum kunzei Hornsch.
Gemmabryum kunzei is a rather small, nondescript moss. With stems usually well less than one centimeter in length, it is not a conspicuous plant. There are no rhizoidal tubers present and no leaf limbidium. It has a variably exserted awn. Leaf margins are plane. Bulbils and gemmae are absent. Perhaps the best identifying character for Gemmabryum kunzei is the absence of a good feature on which to hang ones hat! Dr. Allred found this specimen in Chihuahuan Desert scrubland mixed in with other desert mosses.
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Gemmabryum kunzei, photo Kelly Allred, Doña Ana Co., Jornada del Muerto, USDA Experimental Range, Antelope Tank, Chihuahuan Desert shrubland, on gypsum soil, full sun, February 15, 2017
Gemmabryum kunzei, photomicrograph of leaf, photo Kelly Allred, Doña Ana Co., Jornada del Muerto, USDA Experimental Range, Antelope Tank, Chihuahuan Desert shrubland, on gypsum soil, full sun, February 15, 2017
Gemmabryum kunzei, photomicrograph of midleaf margin, photo Kelly Allred, Doña Ana Co., Jornada del Muerto, USDA Experimental Range, Antelope Tank, Chihuahuan Desert shrubland, on gypsum soil, full sun, February 15, 2017
Gemmabryum kunzei, photomicrograph of leaf base, photo Kelly Allred, Doña Ana Co., Jornada del Muerto, USDA Experimental Range, Antelope Tank, Chihuahuan Desert shrubland, on gypsum soil, full sun, February 15, 2017
Gemmabryum kunzei, photomicrograph of leaf margin at apex, photo Kelly Allred, Doña Ana Co., Jornada del Muerto, USDA Experimental Range, Antelope Tank, Chihuahuan Desert shrubland, on gypsum soil, full sun, February 15, 2017
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