|Philonotis longiseta clings to rocks along the edges of babbling|
brooks. Specimen preserved as Essig 20150402-1 (USF).
Philonotis longiseta (Michx.) E. Britton (Bartramiaceae) is a moss of wet places. It is most often found on rocks or banks of streams, where it is constantly splashed and misted by rapidly moving water. It was said by Reese (1984) that it rarely forms sporophytes in the coastal Gulf of Mexico region, but I recently found it beside the artificial stream at the USF Botanical Garden in Tampa with abundant ripe spore capsules. What exactly about this spot favors reproduction is not clear. Perhaps, the species requires a very stable situation, without drying or submergence, and such conditions are rare along Florida waterways. In the constantly flowing artificial stream, however, the plants are continuously misted.
|The midrib, or costa, extends as a sharp tip at the end of the leaf. Cells are |
rectangular and more elongate in the central part of the leaf.
|The spore capsules are frequently surrounded by|
drops of water that form from the continuous
Several other species of Philonotis have been reported from Florida, but are rare, and differ in minor ways. P. longiseta occurs throughout eastern North America, the West Indies, Central and South America.
Reese, W. D. 1984. Mosses of the Gulf South: From the Rio Grande to the Apalachicola. Louisiana State University Press.