Family: Ditrichaceae

Kingdom: Plantae Rank: Family Parent: Dicranales Status: Valid

Common Names:

  • Ditrichaceae - English, United States of America

Morphological Description

Diagnosis: Plants mostly minute to small, or at times to medium-sized, gregarious or in loose tufts, sometimes densely caespitose. Stems erect, simple or branched. Leaves usually lanceolate, acuminate or subulate, sometimes sheathing at base, seldom distichous; margins plane, reflexed or revolute, entire or serrulate; costa single, narrow, subpercurrent to long-excurrent; cells sub-quadrate or short-rectangular to linear, mostly smooth or occasionally mammilose; alar cells not differentiated. Sporophytes terminal; setae usually elongate, straight, sometimes very short; capsules often long-exerted, at times immersed to emergent, subglobose to cylindric, erect to inclined or curved, asymmetric; operculum often differentiated, conic or long-rostrate, sometimes absent; annuli mostly differentitated; peristome none or present with 16 teeth, divided in terete divisions or perforated nearly to base, without vertical pitted-striolation or with oblique striolation. Calyptra cucullate, rarely mitrate. Spores small, spherical, minutely papillose.