Leptodontaceae is a family of
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 belonging to the order
Hypnales.
There are 3 genera with a worldwide distribution.
Most of the genera of family Leptodontaceae, originally came from family
Neckeraceae
Neckeraceae is a moss family in the order Hypnales. There are about 200 species native to temperate and tropical regions. Most grow on rocks, or other plants.
Description
Members of the family are usually large and glossy plants with creeping st ...
,
[
Such as ''Caduciella'' came into Leptodontaceae in 1991.
It originally comprised ''Alsia'', ''Forsstroemia'', and ''Leptodon''. Recently described or relocated genera in the family include ''Caduciella'' , ''Cryptoleptodon'' , and ''Taiwanobryum'' . Molecular evidence indicates that this small family may not be ]monophyletic
In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...
.[
Family ]Leucodontaceae
Leucodontaceae is a family of mosses belonging to the order Hypnales
Hypnales is the botanical name of an order of Bryophyta or leafy mosses. This group is sometimes called feather mosses, referring to their freely branched stems. The order ...
now contain ''Forsstroemia'' and ''Alsia''. Although some sources note that they are back within the Neckeraceae family.
Later ''Cryptoleptodon'' moved into family Pterobryaceae, and ''Taiwanobryum'' moved into family Prionodontaceae.
Description
The plants are medium sized, forming loose tufts, dark green to yellow green. Corticolous (growing on bark) or saxicolous (growing on rock).
The secondary stems are erect, sometimes incurved when dry and generally pinnately branched. The branches are in single plane,
they have pseudoparaphyllia (the trichome-like or foliose structures on moss stem surfaces).[Robert E. Magill ]
They are defined by the combination of epiphytic habit, branching pattern of clusters of branches alternate with unbranched intervals bearing inflorescences, double sporophytic phenological cycle in which two cohorts of sporophytes mature simultaneously with embryos overwintering, subfoliose pseudoparaphyllia, cucullate calyptrae, sheathing post-fertilization perichaetial leaves (the leafy involucre surrounding the fruit stalk), central strands lacking in shoots, shortened setae (bristles), no annuli, and an exostome (the outer ring of peristome teeth) that flexes open when moist and flexes inward when dry (hydrocastique), thus serving to disperse spores during wet periods.
Genera
As accepted by GBIF
References
Hypnales
Moss families
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