Palustriella commutata
Palustriella commutata
Palustriella commutata, also better known under its old name Cratoneuron commutatum is a pleurokarpes moss, is found mainly in wet, calcareous sites. It outsourced to scale and thus can lead to the formation of tufa.
Description
It is usually more or less regularly simply pinnate mosses that grow hanging, creeping or ascending. The plants can reach lengths of up to about 10 centimeters, at many locations, but only the last few inches are green, while the lower part is already covered entirely of lime.
The stems are densely covered with Paraphyllien, which have the form of single-celled filaments. They are usually heavily kalkinkrustiert. The older the plants are, the more lime has been deposited in the rule.
The längsfaltigen leaves have a wide base, which suddenly goes more or less in a long point in the upper part of the leaves. The leaves are much einseitswendig usually curved. The leaf margin is usually sawed. The midrib extends to the blade tip. The cells of the leaf blade are prosenchymatisch and about 6 to 10 times as long as wide. These features, however, can be quite different, pronounced with the highly variable nature.
Distribution and habitat requirements
The species occurs in temperate parts of the northern hemisphere ( Eurasia, North America, North Africa). However, the varieties of these three continents are also sometimes regarded as a separate species.
One finds the moss always on wet calcareous sites, especially springs and waterfalls in limestone areas or in Kalksümpfen. On such sites it can form mass of vegetation.
The type as Kalktuffbildner
Any calcification between the leaflets and the Paraphyllien of moss. This is achieved by the moss which removes water from carbon dioxide. This reduces the solubility of calcium carbonate, which then precipitates and accumulates on the plant. In this way, the bottom of the moss solid tufa, while the plants continue to grow in the upper part. There can be several centimeters per year deposited lime.
This growing waterfalls with Palustriella commutata typically forward and form overhangs, or upwards, which can form staudamm similar barriers.