Status: Native
Synonyms:
None
This is the first New Mexico specimen in the genus Fossombronia found with sporophytes, and
therefore identifiable to species. All Fossombronias have a cabbage-head like simple thallous
morphology, differing on fine details of the spore ornamentation. Complicating matters is the
unsettled taxonomy of the genus. Fossombronia pusilla has in the past been grouped with F. longiseta,
but more recently is segregated based on the more widely spaced lamellae on the spore. F. pusilla
differs from F. texana in not having conspicuous smaller ornamentations, as well as habitat. F.
texana is found almost exclusively in limestone riverine habitat. We found F. pusilla on a forest
trail on soil mixed with mosses in an area of volcanic origin in mixed conifer forest.
Please click on an image for a larger file.
Fossombronia pusilla, photo Karen Blisard & Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, McMillan Campground, September 4, 2018
Fossombronia pusilla, elater & spore, photo Karen Blisard & Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, McMillan Campground, September 4, 2018
Fossombronia pusilla, spores, photo Karen Blisard & Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, McMillan Campground, September 4, 2018
Fossombronia pusilla, thallus with emergent sporophyte, photo Karen Blisard & Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, McMillan Campground, September 4, 2018
Fossombronia pusilla, thalli among mosses, photo Karen Blisard & Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, McMillan Campground, September 4, 2018
Fossombronia pusilla, cellphone photo of appearance on trail, photo Karen Blisard & Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, McMillan Campground, September 4, 2018
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