Purple-stalked horn tooth moss

Purple-stalked horn tooth moss
	Purple-stalked horn tooth moss ( Ceratodon purpureus )
Systematics
Class :	Bryopsida
Subclass :	Dicranidae
Order :	Dicranales
Family :	Ditrichaceae
Genre :	Horn tooth moss ( Ceratodon )
Type :	Purple-stalked horn tooth moss
Scientific name
	Ceratodon purpureus
	Hedw.

The purple-stalked horn-tooth moss ( Ceratodon purpureus ) also purple moss , Purpurstielzchen is a species from the genus of horn-tooth moss ( Ceratodon ). The name of the genus is derived from the Greek keratos / keras = horn and odon = tooth and refers to the dry hooked peristome teeth . The species name refers to the color of the Seta .

Varieties

In addition to the type, there are also varieties:

Ceratodon purpureus var. Rotundifolius : with rounded leaves.
Ceratodon purpureus var. Obtusifolius : with blunt leaves.

description

The purple-stemmed horn-tooth moss reaches a height of up to 7.5 mm, it grows around 2.8 mm per year, in very shady places the moss can rarely grow up to 4.5 cm high. The stem is erect and often branched. The leaves are wide and lanceolate, they curl up when dry. The smooth to weakly papillary lamina cells are fairly uniform, rounded-square, and rectangular at the leaf base. The seta is initially yellowish to reddish. In old age it turns purple and in old age reddish brown. The spore capsule on the elongated seta is deeply grooved and dry, the 16 peristome teeth are deeply grooved, the lid is conical, the kalyptra is cap-shaped.

distribution

The species is found worldwide, but less common in the tropics than in the temperate zones. In Europe it is very common and of many forms. Usually it can be found at ruderal posts . It grows on earth, wood, stone or sand and is also found in city centers. The species is more tolerant of soil toxins and environmental pollution than other types of moss and can therefore also be found on polluted soils, for example on expressways.

Multiplication

Like all mosses, the purple-stalked horn-tooth moss has a generation change . The haploid spores are blown out of the spore capsule by the wind and distributed. The spores germinate in two phases, first they swell and then expand; this movement tears the capsule and the moss can germinate. The moss plant develops from the protonema that initially emerges . After fertilization, the diploid sporophyte develops, in which the haploid spores arise again through meiosis . The spores are still capable of germination even after 16 years of dry storage.