''Oedipodium'' is the only

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 ...

in the family Oedipodiaceae. It contains the single species ''Oedipodium griffithianum'', the gouty-moss or Griffith's oedipodium moss. This species is distributed in cooler climates of

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

, as well as from

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla G ...

and the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

. The relationship of ''Oedipodium'' to other mosses has been much debated. Previously, the taxon has been included with the

Funariales Funariales is an order containing 356 species,26 genera and 7 families. 1.Gigaspermaceae 2.Funariaceae 3. Disceliaceae 4. Oedipodiacea 5. Splachaceae 6. Ephemeraceae 7. Splachnobryaceae The members are small,annual or biennial land m ...

or the

Splachnales Splachnales is the botanical name of an order of Bryophyta or leafy mosses. References External links Moss orders {{Bryophyte-stub ...

. However, characteristics of the

protonema A protonema (plural: protonemata) is a thread-like chain of cells that forms the earliest stage of development of the gametophyte (the haploid phase) in the life cycle of mosses. When a moss first grows from a spore, it starts as a ''germ tube'', ...

ta and asexual propagation, along with molecular evidence, point to a closer relationship with the

Tetraphidaceae Tetraphidaceae is a family of mosses. It includes only the two genera '' Tetraphis'' and '' Tetrodontium'', each with two species. The defining feature of the family is the 4-toothed peristome. Range This family of mosses is most commonly ...

References

Monotypic moss genera Flora of Alaska Flora of Yukon Flora of British Columbia Flora of Greenland Flora of southern Chile Flora of South Argentina Flora of the Falkland Islands Mosses {{Bryophyte-stub