Status: Native
Synonyms:
Bryum muehlenbeckii Bruch & Schimper
Imbribryum muehlenbeckii has very concave leaves with a reddish tint. The stems are 1-3cm tall with imbricate but not julaceous leaves. There are no obvious asexual reproductive structures-- that is, no bulbils, rhizoidal tubers, etc. There is no limbidium and the proximal cells are quadrate. Spence has made the point that our western plants identified as Imbribryum muehlenbeckii are probably an undescribed species. Imbribryum muehlenbeckii does not have an awn and the costa usually does not reach the apex. Another very similar species Imbribryum alpinum does have these characteristics, but the cells are usually longer and wavy (vermiculate). Our plants seem halfway between those two. Yet another species, Plagiobryoides renauldii, can look similar as well. All three of these species need further characterization. Imbribryum muehlenbeckii as it is understood here occurs at lower to middle elevation in the splash zone of streams and waterfalls.
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Imbribryum muehlenbeckii, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Guadalupe County, Santa Rosa, in stream of waterfall where Blue Hole Creek enters El Rito, July 24, 2022
Imbribryum muehlenbeckii, closeup of clump, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Guadalupe County, Santa Rosa, in stream of waterfall where Blue Hole Creek enters El Rito, July 24, 2022
Imbribryum muehlenbeckii, lower power photomicrograph, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Guadalupe County, Santa Rosa, in stream of waterfall where Blue Hole Creek enters El Rito, July 24, 2022
Imbribryum muehlenbeckii, photomicrograph of single stem, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Guadalupe County, Santa Rosa, in stream of waterfall where Blue Hole Creek enters El Rito, July 24, 2022
Imbribryum muehlenbeckii, photomicrograph of leaf, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Guadalupe County, Santa Rosa, in stream of waterfall where Blue Hole Creek enters El Rito, July 24, 2022
Imbribryum muehlenbeckii, photomicrograph of leaf, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Guadalupe County, Santa Rosa, in stream of waterfall where Blue Hole Creek enters El Rito, July 24, 2022
Imbribryum muehlenbeckii, photomicrograph of base of leaf, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Guadalupe County, Santa Rosa, in stream of waterfall where Blue Hole Creek enters El Rito, July 24, 2022
Imbribryum muehlenbeckii, photomicrograph of leaf apex, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Guadalupe County, Santa Rosa, in stream of waterfall where Blue Hole Creek enters El Rito, July 24, 2022
Imbribryum muehlenbeckii, photomicrograph of lamina and margin at midleaf, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Guadalupe County, Santa Rosa, in stream of waterfall where Blue Hole Creek enters El Rito, July 24, 2022
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