''Kiaeria'' is a genus of
haplolepideous moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...
es (
Dicranidae
The Dicranidae are a widespread and diverse subclass of mosses in class Bryopsida, with many species of dry or disturbed areas. They are distinguished by their spores; the peristome Peristome (from the Greek ''peri'', meaning 'around' or 'about', ...
) of the family
Dicranaceae
Dicranaceae is a family of haplolepideous mosses (Dicranidae) in class Bryopsida. Species within this family are dioicous
Dioicy () is a sexual system where archegonia and antheridia are produced on separate gametophytes. It is one of the t ...
.
Catalogue of Life: 2014 Annual Checklist
/ref> The genus is named after Franz Caspar Kiaer (1835-1893), a Norwegian doctor and bryologist.
Description
The moss is similar to small ''Dicranum
''Dicranum'' is a genus of mosses, also called wind-blown mosses or fork mosses.
These mosses form in densely packed clumps. Stems may fork, but do not branch. In general, upright stems will be single but packed together. ''Dicranum'' is distrib ...
'' species and form loose to dense cushions. The stems are erect, 1-2 inches high (occasionally higher) and are sparsely fibrous with rhizoids below. The leaves are lanceolate, erect-spreading, sometimes falcate, with full margins, to cut up against the blade tip, with emerging veining. The leaf cells are elongated at the leaf base and smooth, the top sheet portion extends to approximately square and smooth. The leaf wing cells are clearly differentiated.
The spore capsule, at the end of the 7-16 millimeter-long seta
In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms.
Animal setae
Protostomes
Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. Th ...
is strumose and more or less inclined. The capsule lid is beaked. The peristome Peristome (from the Greek ''peri'', meaning 'around' or 'about', and ''stoma'', 'mouth') is an anatomical feature that surrounds an opening to an organ or structure. Some plants, fungi, and shelled gastropods have peristomes.
In mosses
In mosses, ...
teeth are divided in about the middle.
Distribution
''Kiaeria'' species are found in the northern hemisphere in the arctic and subalpine to alpine areas. They grow on silicate rocks and on the ground.
Species
Six species have been described:
References
* Jan-Peter Frahm, Wolfgang Frey, J. Döring. ''Moosflora''. 4th ed., UTB Verlag, 2004,
* Nebel, Philippi: ''Die Moose Baden-Württembergs Band 2''. 1st ed., Ulmer Verlag, 2005,
* Wolfgang Frey, Eberhard Fischer, Michael Stech: ''Bryophytes and seedless Vascular Plants''. In: Wolfgang Frey (ed.): ''Syllabus of Plant Families'' - ''A. Engler's Syllabus der Pflanzenfamilien''. 13th ed. vol. 3, Borntraeger, Berlin/Stuttgart 2009,
Notes
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1740751
Moss genera
Dicranales