Mosses of Central Florida 27. Dicranella hilariana

Dicranella hilariana (Montagne) Mitten (Dicranaceae) is typically found on moist, clay banks, but appears to have adapted also to the disturbed slopes of phosphate mine pits and may be partially covered with sand.  From the related genus Dicranum, Dicranella species differ mainly in their smaller size, shorter leaves, and lack of inflated (alar) cells at the base of the leaf. Like the other genera in this family, the leaf has a massive midrib, and the cells are squarish to rectangular.

Leaves of Dicranella hilariana have a thick midrib and square to rectangular cells.

From the two other species of Dicranella occurring in central Florida, D. hilariana differs  primarily in the shape of its capsules, which are erect, symmetrical, and smooth, and in the color of the capsule stalks, which are yellow but may become somewhat reddish as they age. In D. varia the capsules are asymmetrical, somewhat bent to the side, and borne on red stalks. In D. heteromalla, the stalks are yellowish, but the capsules are nodding and  conspicuously furrowed.  

Found in a phosphate pit in Hillsborough County, this specimen of  Dicranella hilariana is partially
buried in the sand.  Note the symmetrical, smooth capsules and yellowish to reddish capsule stalks.  Latina 42 (USF)