Calymperes Moss

This little moss is very well marked by its lack of teniolae, pale spherical clusters of gemmae all around on the tips of the excurrent costa of gemmiferous leaves, and distally truncate cancellinae. See discussion under C. graeffeanum for differentiation from that species, which is the only other Chinese Calymperes with which it could be confused.

Calymperes tenerum is very rare in the flora area, where it is known only from a few specimens from southern peninsular Florida. Its absence of teniolae, narrow cancellinae, and gemmae in golfball-like spheres make it distinctive. This species has a very wide distribution in the tropical parts of the world and is very common in the paleotropics; it is extremely scarce in the Neotropics, suggesting that it is an introduction there.

Plants small, pale, compact, in low turfs. Stems short, forked; rhizoids brown. Leaves only somewhat dimorphic, 2–3 mm long, not much contorted when dry, usually secund, straight and erect-spreading when wet, vegetative leaves oblong, gemmiferous leaves oblong or acuminate, axillary hairs inconspicuous; costa excurrent in gemmiferous leaves; cells of upper laminae isodiametric, smooth to unipapillose abaxially, mammillose-papillose adaxially; margins unistratose or slightly thickened, entire throughout; teniolae lacking; cancellinae narrow, typically truncate distally. Gemmae common, in pale spherical clusters all around on tip of excurrent costa. Sporophytes not seen.

Plants gregarious or tufted, pale green to brownish, straight or curved at tips when dry, to 5 mm or more but mostly much shorter. Leaves dimorphic; vegetative 1-3 mm; distal lamina oblong to broadly linear-lanceolate; margins 1-stratose or slightly thickened distally, entire; costa in cross section showing ad- and abaxial bands of stereid cells; medial cells distinct, 7-8 µm, slightly bulging adaxially, smooth or minutely papillose abaxially; teniolae absent; cancellinae ending in broad angles distally, adaxial cells smooth distally; gemmiferous leaves with apex of costa excurrent, bearing gemmae in pale golfball-like spheres all around on costa apex.

Distribution: often very common and abundant in much of the Palaeotropics but very rare in the neotropics.

Habitat: rare; on tree trunks in humid forests at low elevations.

Calymperes nashii R. S. Williams; C. tenerum subsp. edamense Fleischer