Ceratodon purpureus subsp. purpureus
Plants in open to dense tufts, turfs, or mats, green, dark green, to brownish green, rarely yellow-green. Stems (0.3–) 0.6–1.4 (–4) cm. Leaves erect-patent to contorted or somewhat crisped when dry, rarely forming a comal tuft, patent to erect-patent to spreading when wet, 0.35–2.8 mm, distal margins usually toothed; costa percurrent to slightly excurrent. Seta usually red to dark-brown. Capsule usually inclined to horizontal, (0.8–) 1.3–1.8 (–3) mm, usually arcuate, red to redbrown to purplish to, occasionally, light-brown, deeply sulcate when dry, usually strumose, occasionally light-brown. Peristome teeth usually bordered, usually with 8–16 articulations.
Phenology: Capsules mature early summer–late fall.
Habitat: Various habitats, but most common on open soil, also rock ledges, tree bases, roof tops, old wood, a common colonizer of soil following fires
Elevation: low to high elevations
Distribution
Greenland, Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.W.T., N.S., Nunavut, Ont., P.E.I., Que., Sask., Yukon, Ala., Alaska, Ariz., Ark., Calif., Colo., Conn., Del., D.C., Fla., Ga., Idaho, Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., La., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Mont., Nebr., Nev., N.H., N.J., N.Mex., N.Y., N.C., N.Dak., Ohio, Okla., Oreg., Pa., R.I., S.C., S.Dak., Tenn., Tex., Utah, Vt., Va., Wash., W.Va., Wis., Wyo., Mexico, Eurasia, Pacific Islands (Hawaii)
Discussion
Selected References
None.