Status: Native
Synonyms:
Isopterygiopsis pulchella (Hedw.) Iwatsuke
Isopterygium nitidulum (Wahlenb.) Kindb.
Isopterygium nitidum Lindb.
Isopterygium pulchellum (Hedw.) A. Jaeger
Isopterygium pulchellum (Hedw.) A. Jaeger var. nitidulum (Wahlenb.) G. Roth
Plagiothecium pulchellum (Hedw.) Schimp.
Plagiothecium pulchellum (Hedw.) Schimp. var. nitidulum (Wahlenb.) Renauld & Cardot
Isopterygiella pulchella is a bright light green pleurocarpous moss with ovate leaves with plane, mostly entire margins. Alar cells are inconspicuous and nearly absent.
There is no costa. The laminal cells are linear elongate and not papillose or prorate. The rhizoids are papillose. Uniseriate gemmae made up of just a few cells can be found occasionally in the leaf axils, though they are not common and are difficult to see in situ as they are hidden by the leaf bases. They strip off with the leaves and are more easily seen free alongside the stems on the slide. These gemmae are reminiscent morphologically of those commonly seen on Orthotrichum. We found Isopterygiella pulchella at upper elevation on rock.
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Isopterygiella pulchella, photo Russ Kleinman, Laura Baumann, Karen Blisard & Kelly Allred, Cibola County, El Malpais National Mounument, Navajo Ice Cave, April 19, 2017
Isopterygiella pulchella, photomicrograph of stem, photo Russ Kleinman, Laura Baumann, Karen Blisard & Kelly Allred, Cibola County, El Malpais National Mounument, Navajo Ice Cave, April 19, 2017
Isopterygiella pulchella, photomicrograph of leaf, photo Russ Kleinman, Laura Baumann, Karen Blisard & Kelly Allred, Cibola County, El Malpais National Mounument, Navajo Ice Cave, April 19, 2017
Isopterygiella pulchella, photomicrograph of leaf, photo Russ Kleinman, Laura Baumann, Karen Blisard & Kelly Allred, Cibola County, El Malpais National Mounument, Navajo Ice Cave, April 19, 2017
Isopterygiella pulchella, photomicrograph of leaves, photo Russ Kleinman, Laura Baumann, Karen Blisard & Kelly Allred, Cibola County, El Malpais National Mounument, Navajo Ice Cave, April 19, 2017
Isopterygiella pulchella, photomicrograph of papillose rhizoids, photo Russ Kleinman, Laura Baumann, Karen Blisard & Kelly Allred, Cibola County, El Malpais National Mounument, Navajo Ice Cave, April 19, 2017
Isopterygiella pulchella, photomicrograph of gemma, photo Russ Kleinman, Laura Baumann, Karen Blisard & Kelly Allred, Cibola County, El Malpais National Mounument, Navajo Ice Cave, April 19, 2017
Isopterygiella pulchella, photomicrograph of gemma, photo Russ Kleinman, Laura Baumann, Karen Blisard & Kelly Allred, Cibola County, El Malpais National Mounument, Navajo Ice Cave, April 19, 2017
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