Family: Bruchiaceae

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

Common Names:

  • Bruchiaceae - English, United States of America

Morphological Description

Diagnosis: Plants small, annual, gregarious or loosely tufted. Stems erect, short and usually simple. Leaves ovate or oblong-ovate and gradually or abruptly narrowed to a subula or less commonly ovate and obtuse to broadly acute or cuspidate; margins entire or serrulate above; costa single, ending near the apex to short-excurrent; upper cells subquadrate to short-rectangular or oblong-linear, smooth or papillose at back because of thickened upper ends; basal cells broader and longer, laxly oblong or oblong-rhomboid, not differentiated in the alar regions. Setae very short to elongate, straight or ± flexuose; capsules erect, broadly pyriform and inoperculate or erect to curved and cylindric from a long, slender neck and operculate, smooth or nearly so; peristome (if present) consisting of 16 entire, forked or perforate teeth with vertical bars on the outer surface towards the base. Calyptra mitrate or cucullate, smooth or papillose, naked.