Judith A. Harpel

Plants small. Stems erect, arising from a persistent protonema that reflects light, giving off a greenish golden color. Leaves of sterile shoots distichous-complanate. Specialized asexual structures sometimes present, developing on the protonema. Sexual condition apparently dioicous, though male and female plants develop on the same protonemal mat; perichaetial leaves linear-lanceolate, acute, clustered distally on naked stem. Seta straight, smooth. Capsule with peristome lacking. Operculum plano-convex. Calyptra conic-mitrate. Spores, sticky, elliptic.

Genera 1, species 1 (1 in the flora): Circumboreal, uncommon or rare in North America.

SELECTED REFERENCES Crum, H. and L. Anderson. 1981. Mosses of Eastern North America. Vol. 1. Edwards, S. 1978. Protonemal gemmae in Schistostega pennata (Hedw.) Web. et Mohr. J. Bryol. 10: 69--72. Ignatov, M. and E. Ignatova. 2001. On the zoochory of Schistostega pennata (Schistostegaceae, Musci). Arctoa 10: 83--96.

Lower Taxon

• Schistostega D. Mohr