Kurzia pauciflora
Marchantiophyta
Kurzia pauciflora (Lepidoziaceae)
Bristley Fingerwort
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Infrequent
Distinguishing Features
Restricted to permanently moist, open bog habitats, variably green K. pauciflora forms a very fine (<1/4 mm wide) filamentous fuzz in and amongst the sprigs of Sphagnum. The underleaves and lateral leaves are similair in form (if not size), both 3-4 lobed and sharply-tipped, the lobes widening from 1 cell at their tip to 2 cells at their bottom before joining to a wide leaf base that is attached to the stem at 90 degrees.
Similar species
See notes under K. makinoana, from which K. pauciflora differs in having a 3-to-4 lobed underleaf while the former has an underleaf of 1-to-2 clear lobes in addition to some amorphous knobs ("slime papillae").
Habitat
Moist to wet, usually shady humus, decayed wood, rock outcrops, cliffs, bogs, and peatlands in the lowland, montane, and subalpine zones
Associated species
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