Bruchiaceae Explained

Bruchiaceae is a family of haplolepideous mosses in subclass Dicranidae.^{[1] [2] [3]} The family was previously placed in the order Dicranales,^[2] but are now placed in their own monotypic order, Bruchiales.^[3]

These moses have the greatest occurrence in temperate regions.^[4] They are mosses with long-necked, cleistocarpous (having the capsule opening irregularly without an operculum) capsules and mitrate calyptras.^[5]

History

Viktor Ferdinand Brotherus (in 1909) included Bruchia and Trematodon in the family Dicranaceae, as part of subfamily Trematodontoideae. Nathaniel Lord Britton (in 1913) placed these two genera together with Pringleella in the family Bruchiaceae. Study spore morphology supported the separation of family Bruchiaceae from family Dicranaceae.^[5] By 1979, Bruchiaceae had four genera: Bruchia, Pringleella, Eobruchia, and Trematodon.^[6]

The current circumscription of the family includes four genera:^[3]

• Bruchia
• Eobruchia
• Pringleella
• Trematodon

Two genera, Bruchia and Trematodon, with 16 species, are found in the flora of North America.^[4] Nine species of the family Bruchiaceae exist in Brazil.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Book: Goffinet . B. . W. R. . Buck . A. J. . Shaw . 2008 . Morphology and Classification of the Bryophyta . 55–138 . Goffinet . B. . J. . Shaw . Bryophyte Biology . 2nd . New York . Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-87225-6 . https://books.google.com/books?id=te0fAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT108.
2. Web site: Goffinet . B. . W.R. . Buck . Classification of extant moss genera . Classification of the Bryophyta . 4 March 2014 . 7 April 2020.
3. Dicranidae . 20 November 2024.
4. Web site: Bruchiaceae in Flora of North America @ efloras.org . www.efloras.org . 16 September 2022.
5. Luizi-Ponzo . Andréa Pereira . Barth . Ortrud Monika . Spore morphology of some Bruchiaceae species (Bryophyta) from Brazil . Grana . 1998 . 37 . 4 . 222–227 . 10.1080/00173139809362670. free . 1998Grana..37..222L .
6. Buck . William R. . A re-evaluation of the Bruchiaceae with the description of a new genus . Brittonia . 1979 . 31 . 4 . 469–473. 10.2307/2805998 . 2805998 . 1979Britt..31..469B .