Bryaceae

Bryum Bryum argenteum and capillare on a mural crown

The Bryaceae or Birnmoosgewächse are a cosmopolitan moss family. Its common name they have of their pear-shaped capsule, which is never straight but always hanging or nodding.

Features

The stems are usually upright. The leaves are ovate to ovate - lanceolate. The rib is short and ends in front of the blade tip. The cells of the leaf blade have a slightly elongated hexagonal shape or are elongated ( prosenchymatisch ). However, they are almost never so rounded as in the closely related family Mniaceae.

The capsule is ovoid to cylindrical, has a neck and is usually inclined or nodding. The peristome is double.

Occurrence

The family is distributed worldwide. Most species grow predominantly on earth, less frequently on rock or bark. Especially they are often disturbed to open pioneering and locations, so often in term coined by people around.

System

The Bryaceae comprise 10 genera with about 660 species. The genera are:

• Acidodontium
• Anomobryum, also in Central Europe
• Brachymenium
• Bryum ( Birnmoose ), also in Central Europe
• Haplodontium
• Imbibryum
• Perssonia
• Rhodobryum, also in Central Europe
• Roellia