''Seligeria cardotii'' is one of the two

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 ...

Seligeria ''Seligeria'' is a genus of moss. There are 38 unique species of ''Seligeria'' on The Plant List The Plant List was a list of botanical names of species of plants created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden and ...

'',

bryophyte The Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophyta s.s. consists of the mosses only. They are characteristically limited in ...

s of the

Seligeriaceae Seligeriaceae is a family of mosses in the subclass 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 peristom ...

family, in the Southern Hemisphere; an additional 19 species have been described in the Northern Hemisphere.

Appearance

''S. cardotii'' is an erect, light green to blue-green

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 ...

.Vitt, D.H. and Bartlett, J.K., 1983. The genus ''Seligeria'' in New Zealand. Bryologist, pp.106-113. It typically does not grow longer than 3 mm. Its leaves are linear with a narrow midrib between 2–3 rows of translucent cells on either side. The leaves do not sheath at the stem and have an entire to slightly crenellate sobarnis margin. Capsules are 0.4–0.5–mm long and

obovate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

-hemispheric when moist, becoming

obconic In botany, an obconic is an inverted cone shape. The term is most frequently applied to certain fruit or hypanthium structures with the apical end attached to the stem; however, less frequently the usage may apply to the pistil structure. In the ca ...

when dry. 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, ...

contains 16 moderately short, reddish,

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

teeth approximately 40–μm. Spores are 10–14–μm in diameter and green.

Geographical distribution and habitat

The type specimen of ''S. cardotii'' was described in the nineteenth century from a collection from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

, where it is widespread on moist

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an adje ...

soils. It has also been recorded in Australia from a single population in Tasmania.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q25060178 Grimmiales