Status: Native
Synonyms:
Hypnum jungermannioides Bridel
Leskei sprucei Bruch ex Spruce
Platydictya jungermannioides is a minute moss that is easily overlooked. It can be found mixed with other mosses or in soft, thin mats (sometimes described as "silky" or "cottony") that are adherent to boulders. The leaves
may be as short as 0.1mm and only about 15 cells long. There is no costa and the margin is sometimes serrate near the tip, more commonly entire. The granular papillose rhizoids arise from the leaf axils. There are frequently gemmae in the leaf axils as well. P. jungermannioides is easily confused with Pseudoleskeella tectorum, which has crowded "catenulate" leaves and isodiametric cells along the margin rather than the elongate marginal cells of P. jungermannioides. It can also be confused with Amblystegium serpens, but that species usually has a visible costa. Platydictya jungermannioides is found at middle elevation on rock.
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Platydictya jungermannioides, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred, and Karen Blisard, February 14, 2022, specimen collected by O.B. Metcalfe on August 13, 1903 from "on or near the west fork of the Gila River", New Mexico State Herbarium (NMC), Orrick Baylor Metcalfe 471, det. by A.J. Grout and confirmed by R.R. Ireland
Platydictya jungermannioides, single stem, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred, and Karen Blisard, February 14, 2022, specimen collected by O.B. Metcalfe on August 13, 1903 from "on or near the west fork of the Gila River", New Mexico State Herbarium (NMC), Orrick Baylor Metcalfe 471, det. by A.J. Grout and confirmed by R.R. Ireland
Platydictya jungermannioides, leaf, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred, and Karen Blisard, February 14, 2022, specimen collected by O.B. Metcalfe on August 13, 1903 from "on or near the west fork of the Gila River", New Mexico State Herbarium (NMC), Orrick Baylor Metcalfe 471, det. by A.J. Grout and confirmed by R.R. Ireland
Platydictya jungermannioides, leaf, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred, and Karen Blisard, February 14, 2022, specimen collected by O.B. Metcalfe on August 13, 1903 from "on or near the west fork of the Gila River", New Mexico State Herbarium (NMC), Orrick Baylor Metcalfe 471, det. by A.J. Grout and confirmed by R.R. Ireland
Platydictya jungermannioides, leaf, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred, and Karen Blisard, February 14, 2022, specimen collected by O.B. Metcalfe on August 13, 1903 from "on or near the west fork of the Gila River", New Mexico State Herbarium (NMC), Orrick Baylor Metcalfe 471, det. by A.J. Grout and confirmed by R.R. Ireland
Platydictya jungermannioides, rhizoides originating from leaf axils, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred, and Karen Blisard, February 14, 2022, specimen collected by O.B. Metcalfe on August 13, 1903 from "on or near the west fork of the Gila River", New Mexico State Herbarium (NMC), Orrick Baylor Metcalfe 471, det. by A.J. Grout and confirmed by R.R. Ireland
Platydictya jungermannioides, rhizoides originating from leaf axils, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred, and Karen Blisard, February 14, 2022, specimen collected by O.B. Metcalfe on August 13, 1903 from "on or near the west fork of the Gila River", New Mexico State Herbarium (NMC), Orrick Baylor Metcalfe 471, det. by A.J. Grout and confirmed by R.R. Ireland
Platydictya jungermannioides, granular papillose rhizoid, photo Russ Kleinman, Kelly Allred, and Karen Blisard, February 14, 2022, specimen collected by O.B. Metcalfe on August 13, 1903 from "on or near the west fork of the Gila River", New Mexico State Herbarium (NMC), Orrick Baylor Metcalfe 471, det. by A.J. Grout and confirmed by R.R. Ireland
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