Zygodon menziesii

Zygodon menziesii

Zygodon menziesii (Schwaegr.) Arnott, Mem. Soc. Linn. Paris 5:233, 1827.

Codonoblepharon menziesii Schwaegr., Sp. Musc. Suppl. 2 (1):142, 1824. [Original material: New Zealand, coll. Menzies.]

Zygodon drummondii Tayl., London J. Bot. 5:46, 1846. [Original material: Swan River, West Australia, coll. J. Drummond, 1829–1845.]

Bryum oamaruense R. Brown ter., Trans. New Zealand Inst. 31:447, 1899. [Original material: New Zealand, near Oamaru, coll. R. Brown ter., Nov. 1897.]

Pale to dark green plants, with clustered, slender, erect, sparingly branched stems usually ca. 5 mm high. Leaves not ranked, erect-spreading from the base when moist, somewhat contorted when dry, to nearly 1.5 mm long, 0.4 mm wide, oblong with short-acute apex, usually short-apiculate; costa ending 3–5 cells below leaf tip; cells of upper lamina mostly 10–12 μm in diameter, in longitudinal and oblique rows, usually obliquely elongated, rather thin-walled, smooth; inner basal cells enlarged, hyaline, 25–50 μm long, 20 μm wide, narrower, more elongate cells toward basal margin. Propagula mostly 4–6–celled. Dioicous. Setae reddish brown when mature, 5–10 mm long. Capsule urn ca. 1.5 mm long. Spores 13–17 μm in diameter, nearly smooth.

MAS A TIERRA: Valle Anson, near Plazoleta, 260 m, Sk. 371 (S).

The species is known from Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, and Chile.