Grimmia montana

Bruch & Schimper

Bryol. Europ. 3. 128. 1845,.

Synonyms: Grimmia arctophila Kindberg Grimmia brachydon Austin Grimmia jamesii Austin Grimmia montana var. brachydon (Austin) Lesquereux & James Grimmia tenella Müller Hal. Guembelia tenella
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 27. Treatment on page 233. Mentioned on page 230, 234, 235, 236, 237, 243, 244, 245.

Plants in hoary cushions, yellow-green to dark blue-green, sometimes almost black. Stems 1–1.2 (–1.5) cm, central strand weak. Leaves narrowly lanceolate, rarely ovatelanceolate, 1–2 × 0.3–0.6 mm, concave-keeled, not plicate, margins plane, usually narrowly incurved distally, awn 0.2–1.3 mm, costal transverse-section not prominent to prominent, semicircular; basal juxtacostal laminal cells short to long-rectangular, straight, thick-walled; basal marginal laminal cells quadrate to short-rectangular, straight, thick-walled, not hyaline; medial laminal cells rounded, thick-walled; distal laminal cells 2-stratose, not bulging, marginal cells 2-stratose, not bulging. Sexual condition dioicous, perichaetial leaves not enlarged. Seta straight, 2–3 mm. Capsule occasionally present, exserted, yellow to brown, oblong, exothecial cells rectangular, thin-walled, stomata absent, annulus of 1 row of quadrate, thick-walled cells, operculum rostellate, peristome present, fully developed, split and perforated in distal half.


Habitat: Exposed acidic granite and sandstone
Elevation: moderate to high elevations (900-4000 m)

Distribution

V27 318-distribution-map.gif

Greenland, Alta., B.C., Nunavut, Ont., Yukon, Alaska, Ariz., Calif., Colo., Idaho, Mont., Nev., N.Mex., Oreg., Utah, Wash., Wyo., Mexico, Europe, Africa

Discussion

Grimmia montana is widespread and common on acidic rock in the warm, dry, western interior of North America from southern British Columbia and Alberta southward to California and Colorado. It is very rare at higher latitudes, with outliers known from Alaska, southern Yukon, and northern British Columbia, and a few populations from Greenland and Baffin Island. It is not known from the interior Great Plains, which are largely calcareous. As reported by J. Muñoz (1998b), it is surprisingly absent from seemingly suitable sites in eastern North America. Because its leaf margins can be either plane and/or incurved, it is most commonly confused with G. donniana and G. alpestris, which have plane and incurved margins, respectively. Grimmia montana is readily separated from G. donniana because it is dioicous and lacks stomata, whereas G. donniana is autoicous and has stomata. Gametophytically, G. montana has quadrate to short-rectangular basal marginal laminal cells with thickened transverse walls, while G. donniana has long-rectangular cells with thin walls. Separating G. montana and G. alpestris can be difficult; they have broadly overlapping distributions and both are dioicous and lack stomata. Grimmia alpestris often has bulging, mammilose laminal cells that easily separate it from G. montana, but some stems have leaves that lack this feature. Specimens of G. montana can then be identified by their basal leaf areolation. The basal juxtacostal laminal cells of G. montana tend to be significantly longer than the marginal cells and the two regions are usually distinct. In contrast, G. alpestris tends to have a uniform basal areolation, composed of quadrate to short-rectangular cells.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Grimmia montana"
deciduous +  and persistent +
well-defined +
differentiated +
Roxanne I. Hastings +  and Henk C. Greven +
Bruch & Schimper +
only rarely longer +
not papillose +
toothed +
0.02 cm0.2 mm <br />2.0e-4 m <br /> (0.13 cm1.3 mm <br />0.0013 m <br />) +
sinuous +  and straight to sometimes +
sinuose-nodulose;quadrate;elongate +
oblate;elongate +
divided +
Undefined subg. Guembelia +
undifferentiated +
plicate +  and smooth +
less +  and 1/2 +
not papillose +
mitrate +  and cucullate +
small;medium +
sulcate +  and smooth +
yellow +  and brown +
pendent +  and erect +
striate +  and smooth +
thin +  and thick +
thick-walled +
quadrate +
excurrent;percurrent;excurrent +
subpercurrent +
reniform +, elliptical +  and terete +
usually not markedly larger +
with at-least several marginal rows +  and 2-stratose +
Greenland +, Alta. +, B.C. +, Nunavut +, Ont. +, Yukon +, Alaska +, Ariz. +, Calif. +, Colo. +, Idaho +, Mont. +, Nev. +, N.Mex. +, Oreg. +, Utah +, Wash. +, Wyo. +, Mexico +, Europe +  and Africa +
moderate to high elevations (900-4000 m) +
reproduction +  and asexual +
dioicous +, autoicous +  and sexual +
Exposed acidic granite and sandstone +
papillose +, mammillose +  and smooth +
specialized +
dioicous +, autoicous +  and sexual +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
concave-keeled +, ovatelanceolate +  and lanceolate +
0.03 cm0.3 mm <br />3.0e-4 m <br /> (0.06 cm0.6 mm <br />6.0e-4 m <br />) +
1;multistratose +
thick-walled +  and sinuose +
thick-walled +  and sinuose +
rostellate +
not +  and differentiated +
lanceolate;linear +
Bryol. Europ. +
straight +
sigmoid +  and arcuate +
papillose +  and smooth +
short to long +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
ornamented +  and smooth +
globose +
1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br />) +
muticous;long-awned +
Grimmia arctophila +, Grimmia brachydon +, Grimmia jamesii +, Grimmia montana var. brachydon +, Grimmia tenella +  and Guembelia tenella +
Grimmia montana +
Grimmia subg. Guembelia +
species +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (7 cm70 mm <br />0.07 m <br />) +
black;yellow-green;dark blue-green +