''Phaeoceros'' is a

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 ...

of hornworts in the

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 ...

Notothyladaceae The Notothyladaceae is the only 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 ...

. The genus is global in its distribution. Its name means 'yellow horn', and refers to the characteristic yellow spores that the plants produce in the horn-shaped sporophyte. The genus ''Phaeoceros'' was first recognized in 1951 by

Johannes Max Proskauer Johannes Max Proskauer (December 5, 1923 – December 20, 1970) was born in Göttingen, Germany. He travelled to England via a ''Kindertransport.'' His mother died in 1943 and his father was murdered in Auschwitz. He attended the University o ...

. The type species is '' Phaeoceros laevis''. The genus is distinguished by having yellow spores, different chloroplast structure, relatively less frilliness of the

thallus Thallus (plural: thalli), from Latinized Greek (), meaning "a green shoot" or "twig", is the vegetative tissue of some organisms in diverse groups such as algae, fungi, some liverworts, lichens, and the Myxogastria. Many of these organisms ...

when compared to ''Anthoceros'', and a relative lack of internal cavities in ''Phaeoceros''. The yellow color of the spores is the easiest way to distinguish ''Phaeoceros'' from the common genus ''

Anthoceros ''Anthoceros'' is a genus of hornworts in the family Anthocerotaceae. It is distributed globally. Species of ''Anthoceros'' are characterized by having a small to medium-sized, green thallus that is more or less lobed along the margins. Etymolo ...

'', which produces spores that are dark brown to black. ''Phaeoceros'' is often confused with ''Anthoceros'', and dried plants are particularly difficult to distinguish in, but the two genera can always be recognized, when fertile and mature, by the spores. When sterile, the distinguishing characteristic is the absence of lacunae (gaps within the tissue) within the thallus, which in ''Anthoceros'' are large and numerous.

References

* Proskauer, J. (1951). "Studies on Anthocerotales. III". ''Bull. Torrey Bot. Club'' 78: 331–349.

External links

Description and photos
Hornworts Bryophyte genera {{Bryophyte-stub