CA, Southern California, 20060309
Echo Mt Trail, mosses and lichens.
Echo Mt Trail at top of Lake. Cursory survey of some lichens and mosses.
Asterella
Lots of patches on uphill banks. Who knows if it is the usual species.
Cladonia chlorophaea
Huge areas of this, esp higher up where podetia finally start to appear a v short barely excl things then full-on stalks. Squamules not sorediate.
Lepraria
The med blue-grey dust.
Chrysothrix candelaris?
Yellow dust on big coast live oak near bottom of trail.
Trapelia involuta?
| | GEN | | dense red-brown ragged lecanorine apothecia, verrucose grey areolate disintegrating thallus, K-, C+ pink, KC+ red |
Assume is same as one in Eaton Canyon, based on chemistry.
Collema?
On cement stabilizing side of cyn just below flood control "step" below where trail crosses wash.
| | GEN | | small foliose jelly, on cement| thallus | | round lobes 4-5mm wide, crinkled up, broadly attached bel w tufts of long wh tom, covered w large globular isidia, some rounded lobules, mostly w/o thick marg, black to olive to green esp wh wet |
| algae | | uniformly distributed throughout thallus, one-celled |
no apothecia |
Supposedly
Collema has "chains" of
Nostoc blue-green algae, but I see nothing resembling chains in a smash prep of thallus. It seems not to have cortex on either side, but under microscope there is a brownish margin on both sides (with bluish green inside).
Bryum
On dirt on side of trail 1 mile up.
| | GEN | | moss, on soil, low cushion |
| | ST | | unbr, fine reddish rhiz bel |
| | LF | | 5 ranks, open 50-60deg when wet, oblong-lance, acute, not decur, costa extends past end in hyaline bristle, lf 2.2x0.4mm or so, bristle 0.4mm| basal | | cells rectangular, firm but not too thick walled |
upper cells rhombic to skewed hexagonal, median cell about 65x18um, cells smooth, border two rows of v long narr cells, v sl serrulate ab, wavy to revol, green |
| | FR | | | seta | | 30mm, reddish, stout, nodding |
| cap | | cyl, tapering to neck, stomata bel, 5x1mm |
no calypt available, operculum (0.5x0.5mm knobbed little cap), peristome not developed yet |
It matches the descriptions of
B. lisae and
B. caespiticium from
www.csun.edu extremely well.
Bryum argenteum
On banks all over, v minute sorta silvery moss.
| | GEN | | moss, on soil/rock banks, min carpet |
| | ST | | pin br'd randomly, to 2-3mm at most |
| | LF | | 5 ranks, strongly imbr when dry, sl open wh wet, 0.7x0.5mm, squat ov, acum, costa not extending to tip, tipped w min bristle 10-20% lf length, cells rect bel and narr hex ab, maybe 1 layer elongate cell border ab if any at all, cells smooth, entire, silvery in mass to green under scope |
| | FR | | none present, appears to have veg propagules |
This is such a widespread well-described moss, and it matches perfectly.
Didymodon vinealis?
Very common on periodically damp rock banks.
| | GEN | | moss, on rock banks, cushion |
| | ST | | to 15+mm, br'd a few times |
| | LF | | 5 ranks, spreading when wet, folded, sides flat, marg thick, costa nearly whole length, 1.75x0.65mm, lance-delt, green, entire, acute, no awn, cells rounded quadrate, median cell 10x10um, costa 12% width of lf, papillose |
| | FR | | | seta | | 12mm, straight, well excl |
| cap | | 1.5x0.2mm, cyl, indistinctly furrowed when dry, neck inconspic, operculate |
| peristome | | entire?, not sure it's "good" |
|
Keys out to several genera thanks to missing calyptra, and not knowing what "stereid bands" on the costa are, and also not knowing how to section a lf yet to see marg and cell xsect. I based my guess on the same csun.edu site above, which lists several Didymodon and none of the other candidates. The description and esp pictures match fairly well. That site suggests
D. vinealis as one of two keeled species, the other of which doesn't match.
Brachythecium asperrimum?
Prostrate branching ragged mats on banks at bottom of trail.
| | GEN | | moss, on soil bank, ragged carpet |
| | ST | | well-br'd, prostrate, tips sometimes erect |
| | LF | | lance, 1.0x0.5mm, decur?, pretty flat, costa to 60-70%, no border, serrulate whole length, tip abrupt acum, cells v long lin sl wavy (approx 50x5-7um), cells at tip tend to be shorter, cells at v base shorter and wider and clearer, smooth and flat in x-sect |
| | FR | | | seta | | 10mm, yellow, smooth, straight |
| cap | | probably fairly narrow, too young |
| calyptra | | covers entire cap, cucullate, long narr pt |
|
< 20060308 | home | index | 20060310 >