PTYCHOMITRIUM
DRUMMONDII (Wils.) Sull.
Drummond's Ptychomitrium
FAMILY: Ptychomitreaceae
HABIT: Perennial plants that typically grow in
small, low, dense, dark green to blackish colonies with yellowish sporophytes
on the trunks of hardwood trees.
SIMILAR
SPECIES: Ptychomitrium drummondii
can be separated from the remaining three North American species in the genus
(none of which occur in Ohio) on the basis of its preference for a tree bark
substrate. The other species occur only on soil or rock substrates.
TOTAL
RANGE: The Piedmont and coastal plain
of the Southeastern U.S. from DE to FL, and w. to TX, MO, and OK, and
apparently disjunct in Ohio.
STATE
RANGE: Known only from a single
collection from Butler County n 1982.
STATE
STATUS: 1990-1991: Added, 1992 to
present: Endangered.
HABITAT: On trunks of hardwoods along streams and
urban streets.
HAZARDS:
Unknown, but possible clearing of forest canopy.
RECOVERY
POTENTIAL: Unknown.
INVENTORY
GUIDELINES: As this species frequently
grows in small tufts, collect only a portion of the material, preferably with
sporophytes.
COMMENTS: Ptychomitrium drummondii is thought
to be a southeastern piedmont/ coastal plain species. Whether its occurrence in Ohio is a result of incomplete
collecting in the Midwest, or whether it has recently been introduced into the
area is, at present, unclear.
SELECTED REFERENCES:
Crum, H.A.
and L.E. Anderson. 1981. Mosses of Eastern North America. Two vols.
Columbia University Press.
Reese,
W.D. 1983. Mosses of the Gulf South.
Louisiana State University Press.
Division of Natural Areas and Preserves
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Created: 3/1990 Jerry A. Snider
Database Code: SPPB.422