The Dicranidae are a widespread and diverse subclass of
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 class
Bryopsida
The Bryopsida constitute the largest class of mosses, containing 95% of all moss species. It consists of approximately 11,500 species, common throughout the whole world.
The group is distinguished by having spore capsules with teeth that are '' ...
, with many species of dry or disturbed areas. They are distinguished by their
spore
In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual reproduction, sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for biological dispersal, dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores fo ...
s; the
peristome
Peristome (from the Greek language, 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 mo ...
teeth are
haplolepideous with a 4:2:3 formula, and an exostome is absent.
Systematics
Traditionally, the Dricanidae comprised about six to eight orders.
Pottiales
Pottiales is an order (biology), order of mosses in the subclass Dicranidae.
Classification
The following families are recognised in ''Bryophyte Biology'':
*Pottiaceae
*Pleurophascaceae
*Serpotortellaceae
*Mitteniaceae
Some other families ...
.[ The phylogenetic relationships recovered within Dicranidae are shown in the cladogram below. The orders Bryoxiphiales, Pseudoditrichales and Mitteniales were not sampled in this study.
]
References
Plant subclasses
Bryopsida
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