Status: Native
Synonyms:
Barbula anomala Bruch & Schimper
Timmiella subanomala (Bescherelle) Brotherus
Trichostomum subanomala (Bescherelle) Brotherus
Timmiella anomala is a fragile moss that has leaves which crack easily with dissection. The leaf cross section is the most distinctive feature, but is not well treated in many descriptions which simply refer to it as "bistratose". The problem arises because it is easy to miss if the observer is expecting to find two layers of equal size and shape as in the laminae of most other bistratose mosses. In Timmiella anomala, the lower (abaxial) cells are oval to cushion-shaped, while the upper (adaxial) cells are much larger and pear-shaped (pyriform). The mammillae on the upper lamina surface are responsible for the difference in size and shape. The leaf base of T. anomala is differentiated-- hyaline, with elongate to linear marginal cells. Timmiella anomala is known in New Mexico from only two collections, one by Leila Shultz and the other by Lloyd Stark. Our photos here are of a specimen we collected on soil in California.
Please click on an image for a larger file.
Timmiella anomala, collection and ID Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, California, Butte County, Lime Saddle Rec. Area, marina access road adjacent to Pentz-Magalia Hwy., March 25, 2011; photomicrograph by Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, January 1, 2023
Timmiella anomala, rewetted specimen, collection and ID Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, dry with capsules, California, Butte County, Lime Saddle Rec. Area, marina access road adjacent to Pentz-Magalia Hwy., March 25, 2011; photomicrograph by Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, January 1, 2023
Timmiella anomala, single stem, collection and ID Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, California, Butte County, Lime Saddle Rec. Area, marina access road adjacent to Pentz-Magalia Hwy., March 25, 2011; photomicrograph by Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, January 1, 2023
Timmiella anomala, leaf, collection and ID Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, California, Butte County, Lime Saddle Rec. Area, marina access road adjacent to Pentz-Magalia Hwy., March 25, 2011; photomicrograph by Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, January 1, 2023
Timmiella anomala, leaf, collection and ID Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, California, Butte County, Lime Saddle Rec. Area, marina access road adjacent to Pentz-Magalia Hwy., March 25, 2011; photomicrograph by Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, January 1, 2023
Timmiella anomala, leaf, collection and ID Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, California, Butte County, Lime Saddle Rec. Area, marina access road adjacent to Pentz-Magalia Hwy., March 25, 2011; dark field photomicrograph by Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, January 1, 2023
Timmiella anomala, leaf base, collection and ID Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, California, Butte County, Lime Saddle Rec. Area, marina access road adjacent to Pentz-Magalia Hwy., March 25, 2011; photomicrograph by Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, January 1, 2023
Timmiella anomala, leaf base, collection and ID Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, California, Butte County, Lime Saddle Rec. Area, marina access road adjacent to Pentz-Magalia Hwy., March 25, 2011; photomicrograph by Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, January 1, 2023
Timmiella anomala, leaf apex, collection and ID Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, California, Butte County, Lime Saddle Rec. Area, marina access road adjacent to Pentz-Magalia Hwy., March 25, 2011; photomicrograph by Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, January 1, 2023
Timmiella anomala, cells at mid-lamina, collection and ID Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, California, Butte County, Lime Saddle Rec. Area, marina access road adjacent to Pentz-Magalia Hwy., March 25, 2011; photomicrograph by Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, January 1, 2023
Timmiella anomala, capsule, collection and ID Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, California, Butte County, Lime Saddle Rec. Area, marina access road adjacent to Pentz-Magalia Hwy., March 25, 2011; photomicrograph by Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, January 1, 2023
Timmiella anomala, leaf cross section, collection and ID Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, California, Butte County, Lime Saddle Rec. Area, marina access road adjacent to Pentz-Magalia Hwy., March 25, 2011; photomicrograph by Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, January 1, 2023
Timmiella anomala, leaf cross section, collection and ID Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, California, Butte County, Lime Saddle Rec. Area, marina access road adjacent to Pentz-Magalia Hwy., March 25, 2011; photomicrograph by Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, January 1, 2023
Timmiella anomala, high power view of portion of leaf cross section showing the bistratose lamina, collection and ID Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, California, Butte County, Lime Saddle Rec. Area, marina access road adjacent to Pentz-Magalia Hwy., March 25, 2011; photomicrograph by Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, January 1, 2023
Back to the Index