Didymodon brachyphyllus (Sull.) R.H. Zander

Cottet, Agustina Celeste, Messuti, María Inés, Ansaldo, Martín & Dopchiz, Laura Patricia, 2025, Mosses (Bryophyta) of the north-western region of Marambio (Seymour) Island, Antarctica, Antarctic Science (Cambridge, England) 37 (1), pp. 31-38 : 34

* Didymodon brachyphyllus (Sull.) R.H. Zander [ Pottiaceae ]

Description and iconography

Ochyra et al. (2008).

Distribution and habitat

Didymodon brachyphyllus has a bipolar distribution and is considered pan-Antarctic. This species occurs both in dry and humid habitats, often in sheltered sites such as crevices and rocky ledges ( Ochyra et al. 2008). In the study area, it was found growing on the ground in the plateau and slope zones, mostly growing alone, but it was also encountered with other bryophytes.

Comments

Didymodon brachyphyllus can be confused with small gametophytes of B. antarcticum . However, the former is green to brown, with leaves 0.5–1.1 mm long, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, and often cuculate at the apex, the apical cells are never smooth, and the axillar hairs have brown basal cells and axillary buds, while the latter does not have these features ( Ochyra & Zander 2002).