Physcomitrium

Taxobox
name = Urn Moss

---

image_caption = "Physcomitrium pyriforme"
image_width = 250px
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Bryophyta
classis = Bryopsida
subclassis = Funariidae
ordo = Funariales
familia = Funariaceae
genus = "Physcomitrium"
genus_authority = Bridel
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = See text.

"Physcomitrium" is a genus of mosses, commonly called urn moss, that includes about 80 species and has a cosmopolitan distribution. The scientific name comes from the Ancient Greek words "physa", meaning bladder, and "mitrion", meaning little turban, which together refer to the urn-like calyptra. The common name is derived from its symmetrical, erect and urn-like capsules that lack peristomes, these features characterising the genus. They are commonly found on exposed soils that are often associated with locations that become very wet in the spring, such as along river banks or on alluvial mud. They occur from near sea level to about 2500 metres. The capsules mature over the winter and into the spring.Citation
last =McIntosh
first =Terry T.
contribution =Physcomitrium
year =2007
title =Flora of North America
editor-last =Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+
volume =27
contribution-url =http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=125294
place=New York & Oxford
publisher =Oxford University Press]

Many species were once circumscribed within the species Physcomitrium pyriforme, which over time has been broken up into many separate species based on variation of the sporophyte and gametophyte.

elected species

*"Physcomitrium australe"
*"Physcomitrium californicum"
*"Physcomitrium drummondii"
*"Physcomitrium kellermanii"
*"Physcomitrium megalocarpum"
*"Physcomitrium pyriforme"
*"Physcomitrium turbinatum"

References