Bruchiaceae is a family of
haplolepideous moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...
es in 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 peristome teeth are haplolepideous with a 4:2:3 formula, and an exostome ...
.
The family was previously placed in the order
Dicranales
Dicranales is an order of haplolepideous 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; ...
,
[ but are now placed in their own monotypic order, Bruchiales.][
These moses have the greatest occurrence in temperate regions.]
They are mosses with long-necked, cleistocarpous (having the capsule opening irregularly without an operculum) capsules and mitrate calyptras.
History
Viktor Ferdinand Brotherus
Viktor Ferdinand Brotherus (28 October 1849 – 9 February 1929) was a Finnish botanist who studied the mosses (Bryophyta). He is best known for authoring the treatment of 'Musci' in Engler and Prantl's '' Die Naturlichen Pflanzenfamilien''.
...
(in 1909) included ''Bruchia'' and ''Trematodon'' in the family Dicranaceae
Dicranaceae is a family of haplolepideous mosses ( Dicranidae) in class Bryopsida. Species within this family are dioicous. Genera in this family include '' Dicranum'', '' Dicranoloma'', and '' Mitrobryum''.
Classification
The family Dicranac ...
, as part of subfamily ''Trematodontoideae''. Nathaniel Lord Britton
Nathaniel Lord Britton (1859 – 1934) was an American botanist and taxonomist who co-founded the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, New York (state), New York.
Early life
Britton was born on the 15 of January 1859 at New Dorp, Staten Island ...
(in 1913) placed these two genera together with ''Pringleella'' in the family ''Bruchiaceae''. Study spore morphology supported the separation of family Bruchiaceae from family Dicranaceae.[ By 1979, Bruchiaceae had four genera: ''Bruchia'', ''Pringleella'', ''Eobruchia'', and ''Trematodon''.]
The current circumscription of the family includes four genera:[
* '' Bruchia''
* '' Eobruchia''
* '' Pringleella''
* '']Trematodon
''Trematodon'' is a genus of moss belonging to the family Bruchiaceae.
The genus was first described by André Michaux.
The genus has cosmopolitan distribution
In biogeography, a cosmopolitan distribution is the range of a taxon that exte ...
''
Two genera, ''Bruchia'' and ''Trematodon'', with 16 species, are found in the flora of North America. Nine species of the family ''Bruchiaceae'' exist in Brazil.[
]
References
External links
*
Moss families
{{Dicranidae-stub