Orthodontiaceae is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

of mosses.

Description

Species in the family are

acrocarpous The Bryopsida constitute the largest class of mosses, containing 95% of all moss species. It consists of approximately 11,500 species, common throughout the whole world. The group is distinguished by having spore capsules with teeth that are '' ...

or pseudo- pleurocarpous mosses that are

epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

. They are usually dioecious and have erect

setae 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. ...

and capsules with a well-developed operculum. They are characterized as small plants growing loosely on coniferous trees, decaying coniferous wood, or in terrestrial habitats. Species are widespread in

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

regions.P. M. Eckel. 2014. Orthodontiaceae. In Flora of North America. Vol. 28: 113-116

Classification

The placement of the family has been subject to much revision. The

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

'' Orthodontium'' was elevated to family status by W. R. Buck and Goffinet (2000) and was originally associated with the Bryales. The family was elevated the order Orthodontiales by Bell et al. (2007).Bell, N., Quandt, D., O'Brien, T., & Newton, A. (2007). Taxonomy and Phylogeny in the Earliest Diverging Pleurocarps: Square Holes and Bifurcating Pegs. The Bryologist, 110(3), 533-560. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/20110887 The family most recently is considered as part of the

Rhizogoniales Rhizogoniales is an order of mosses in the Bryopsida The Bryopsida constitute the largest class of mosses, containing 95% of all moss species. It consists of approximately 11,500 species, common throughout the whole world. The group is dist ...

. The genera represented by the order are: * '' Orthodontium'' * '' Orthodontopsis'' * '' Hymenodon'' * '' Leptotheca''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q12330472 Moss families Rhizogoniales