BARBULA INDICA (Hook.) Spreng. In
Steud. var. INDICA
Twisted Teeth Moss
FAMILY: Pottiaceae
SYNONYMS: Barbula
cancellata C. Mull.
CHARACTERS: Dull, small pale- or yellow-green plants (about
2-5 mm high) in dense clumps. Stems
reddish. Leaves 1-2 mm long, ligulate-lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, obtuse or
rounded at the apex and usually minutely apiculate, somewhat revolute toward base, contorted when dry. Costa, with 2 sterid bands, ending in a
small point. Very small dark- to rusty-red
clavate multicellular brood bodies on branched stalks are common in the leaf
axils.
SIMILAR SPECIES: B. unguiculata is similar, but rarely
has axillary brood bodies. The leaves
of B. unguiculata end in a strong
apiculus. Both occur on calcareous substrates.
TOTAL RANGE: OH, IA, GA, FL, AR, MO, TX, AZ. Japan and Indonesia.
STATE RANGE: Post-1980 records from Adams, Erie and Hocking
Counties.
STATE STATUS: 1996 to present: Added.
HABITAT: Calcareous
soils in disturbed situations.
HAZARDS: Trampling
of habitat.
RECOVERY POTENTIAL:
Unknown, possibly good as the taxon tolerates disturbance.
INVENTORY GUIDELINES:
Collect only a small sample of plants, preferably with sporophytes.
COMMENTS: This
species is probably more widespread in Ohio than the records indicate. Members of the family Pottiaceae tend to
superficially resemble each other.
Careful examination of microscopic features is necessary for identification.
SELECTED
REFERENCES:
Crum, H.A. and L.E. Anderson. 1981.
Mosses of Eastern North America.
Volumes 1 & 2. Columbia
University Press. NY. 1328 pp.
Osterbrock, A,J. and J.A. Snider. 1985.
A checklist of the bryophytes of the Edge of Appalachia Preserve System,
Adams County, Ohio. Ohio J. Sci.
85: 138-143.
Reese, W.D.
1984. Mosses of the Gulf South
from Rio Grande to the Apalachicola.
Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, LA. 252 p.
Division of Natural
Areas and Preserves
Ohio Department of
Natural Resources
Created: 4/2001 Barbara K. Andreas
Database Code: SPPF.499