Family: Pterobryaceae

Kingdom: Plantae Rank: Family Parent: Leucodontales Status: Valid

Common Names:

  • Pterobryaceae - English, United States of America

Morphological Description

Diagnosis: Plants medium to robust, often regularly pinnate, generally frondose above a stipitate base. Primary stems creeping, filiform, with small, clasping, scalelike, fragile leaves; secondary stems erect or pendent, simple or irregularly branched to regularly 1- or 2-pinnate. Gemmae common in leaf axils, cylindric, septate. Leaves erect-spreading, spreading or squarrose, smooth or plicate, concave, oblong to ovate or ovate-lanceolate, occasionally auriculate or decurrent, acute to acuminate; margins entire to serrulate; costa single, short and double or absent; upper cells rhomboidal to linear (or rarely rhombic to short-elliptic), thick-walled, often porose, smooth or papillose because of projecting upper ends; basal cells colored, strongly thick-walled and porose; alar cells often distinctly differentiated. Setae ± short (rarely elongate), smooth throughout or rough above; capsules immersed to exserted, erect, oblong to ovoid; operculum conic-rostrate, peristome single or double, exostome teeth 16; endostome often rudimentary. Calyptra cucullate or mitrate, often sparsely pilose. Spores large, papillose.