Wednesday 28 September 2016

Hygrohypnum ochraceum

At first glance you'd be forgiven for thinking you've found a Hypnum but on closer inspection the presence of a costa is revealed and in this case a forked costa that runs a little over 50% of the leaf. Keying out can be misleading as the stumbling block comes when judging the costa length; if 50% or more you are taken down the wrong part of the key. Once you are aware of this Hygrohypnum becomes the obvious choice. Hygrophypnum ochraceum is tricky to separate from H.luridum in the field but under the compound microscope the presence of inflated colourless alar cells confirms Hygrophynum ochraceum.

Hygrophypnum ochraceum

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