Status: Native
Synonyms:
Nyholmiella obtusifolia (Brid.) Holmen & Warncke
Orthotrichum obtusifolium is very distinctive. It forms large fuzzy carpets on Gambel Oak, and smaller
but nonetheless distinctive clumps on other trees such as Douglas Fir. There are numerous multicellular cylindrical
gemmae usually present on the lamina and not stalked in the axils such as in Zygodon. Unlike nearly all other
Orthotrichaceae in New Mexico, the calyptra does not have hairs-- it is described as naked with papillae. The papillae
are quite low and indistinct. The leaves themselves are quite frequently rounded at the apex, and there are no
awns. Each leaf cell has one central simple papilla on both the lower and upper surfaces. We found O. obtusifolium
at high elevation on both Douglas Fir and Gambel Oak but with larger populations on the Oak.
Please click on an image for a larger file.
Orthotrichum obtusifolium, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Otero Cty., Sacramento Mountains, Lincoln NF, S of Cloudcroft, Russia Cyn Road about 100 yds from Sunspot Road, July 24, 2020
Orthotrichum obtusifolium, closeup of habit on Gambel Oak, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Otero Cty., Sacramento Mountains, Lincoln NF, S of Cloudcroft, Russia Cyn Road about 100 yds from Sunspot Road, July 24, 2020
Orthotrichum obtusifolium, photomicrograph of gemmae on leaf, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Otero Cty., Sacramento Mountains, Lincoln NF, S of Cloudcroft, Russia Cyn Road about 100 yds from Sunspot Road, July 24, 2020
Orthotrichum obtusifolium, photomicrograph of gemmae on leaf, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Otero Cty., Sacramento Mountains, Lincoln NF, S of Cloudcroft, Russia Cyn Road about 100 yds from Sunspot Road, July 24, 2020
Orthotrichum obtusifolium, photomicrograph of gemma, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Otero Cty., Sacramento Mountains, Lincoln NF, S of Cloudcroft, Russia Cyn Road about 100 yds from Sunspot Road, July 24, 2020
Orthotrichum obtusifolium, photomicrograph of naked calyptra, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Otero Cty., Sacramento Mountains, Lincoln NF, S of Cloudcroft, Russia Cyn Road about 100 yds from Sunspot Road, July 24, 2020
Orthotrichum obtusifolium, photomicrograph of well-formed exostome and ribbed capsule, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Otero Cty., Sacramento Mountains, Lincoln NF, S of Cloudcroft, Russia Cyn Road about 100 yds from Sunspot Road, July 24, 2020
Orthotrichum obtusifolium, photomicrograph of leaf and gemmae, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Otero Cty., Sacramento Mountains, Lincoln NF, S of Cloudcroft, Russia Cyn Road about 100 yds from Sunspot Road, July 24, 2020
Orthotrichum obtusifolium, photomicrograph of leaf and gemmae, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Otero Cty., Sacramento Mountains, Lincoln NF, S of Cloudcroft, Russia Cyn Road about 100 yds from Sunspot Road, July 24, 2020
Orthotrichum obtusifolium, photomicrograph of leaf apex with cells with one papilla, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Otero Cty., Sacramento Mountains, Lincoln NF, S of Cloudcroft, Russia Cyn Road about 100 yds from Sunspot Road, July 24, 2020
Orthotrichum obtusifolium, photomicrograph of leaf apex with cells with one papilla, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Otero Cty., Sacramento Mountains, Lincoln NF, S of Cloudcroft, Russia Cyn Road about 100 yds from Sunspot Road, July 24, 2020
Orthotrichum obtusifolium, photomicrograph of leaf cross sections, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Otero Cty., Sacramento Mountains, Lincoln NF, S of Cloudcroft, Russia Cyn Road about 100 yds from Sunspot Road, July 24, 2020
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