SPECIES FACT SHEET
Common Name: Brittle Crisp-moss
Scientific Name:
Tortella fragilis (Hook. & Wilson) Limpr..
Recent synonyms: None
Division: Bryophyta
Class: Bryopsida
Order: Pottiales
Family: Pottiaceae
Taxonomic Note: None
Technical Description: Plants dark green to yellowish-brown, dense
ridge tufts up to 5 cm tall; leaves erect-incurved, not crisped when dry,
erect spreading when moist, linear-lanceolate from a sheathing base, 4–5
mm long ending in a subulata apex; apex fragile and usually tips are
broken off; margins plane or inflexed; costa short-excurrent as a mucro;
upper medial cells hexagonal, papillose, 7–11 µm; basal cells hyaline,
smooth, elongate, extending up the margins of the leaf forming a “V”
shape. Dioicous; seta 15–20 mm long, capsules 1.8–3 mm long,
peristome teeth long, spirally wound together; spores about 9 µm,
smooth or slightly roughened.
Distinctive characters: (1) broken leaf tips (2) not crisped when dry (3)
ridge, erect-incurved leaves
Similar species: Tortella tortuosa has strongly contorted leaves when
dry and does not end in long, linear fragile tips.
Other descriptions and illustrations: Crum & Anderson 1981; Lawton
1971; Eckle 2007.
Life History: Specific details for this species are not well documented.
In general the protonema, spore germination and development are typical
of all mosses. According to Schofield (1976), Smith (2004), and Crum &
Anderson (1981), sporophyte are very rare. According to Eckle (2007)
capsules are uncommon but when present mature in the June. The
leaf tips are very fragile and easily brake off, and are a form of asexual
reproduction.
Range, Distribution, and Abundance: Tortella fragilis is known from
eastern North America, Europe, Greenland, Asia, Africa, Iceland, New
Zealand, Australasia and Antarctica. In the Pacific Northwestern North
America it has been found in Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia,
Washington and Oregon. Norris & Shevock (2004) report it from
California.
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Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center reports Tortella fragilis from
Lincoln County in the Coast Range Ecoregion and in Jackson County in
the West Cascades Ecoregion.
BLM: Documented on Medford District
USFS: Documented on the Siuslaw and Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie
National Forests, and suspected on the Rogue River –
Siskiyou National Forest
Other: There is a historical collection in Washington from the
Cascade Mountains, Upper Valley of the Nesqually River
which may be in Mt. Rainier National Park
The lack of capsules in a dioicous species may be contributing to the
rarity of this species. The limited amount of calcareous deposits within
Oregon and Washington may also be a limiting factor.
Habitat Associations: Tortella fragilis is a calciphile that grows on rock
or occasionally on dry soil in exposed locations. Schofield (1976) states
that in British Columbia this species occurs on calcareous cliffs from
sea-level to alpine elevations.
Threats: Quarrying, road or trail construction could pose a threat to
this species. Rock climbing in or around known locations could also be a
threat.
Conservation Considerations: All known localities could be revisited to
determine the extent of the populations and characterize habitats. It
would be good to explore similar habitat to find new populations. This
species should be relatively easy to survey for as it is restricted to
calcareous substratum.
Conservation Rankings and Status:
Global: G5, Oregon (S1)
Oregon: ORNHIC List 3
Washington: Not ranked
BLM/USFS Strategic Species in Oregon
Preparer: Judith A. Harpel Ph.D.
Date Completed: November 2008
References:
Crum, H. & L. Anderson. 1981. Mosses of Eastern North America. 2
volumes. Columbia University Press, New York. 1328 pp.
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Eckle, P. 2007. Tortella in Flora of North America North of Mexico.
Bryophyta Vol. 27 Part 1: 498-511. Oxford Univ. Press. Oxford.
Lawton. E. 1971. Moss Flora of the Pacific Northwest. The Hattori
Botanical Laboratory. Nichinan, Miyazaki, Japan. 362 pp.
NatureServe Explorer. 2008. An Online Encyclopedia of Life.
http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/
Norris, D. & J. Shevock. 2004. Contributions Toward A Bryoflora of
California: I A Specimen-Based Catalogue of Mosses. Madrono
51(1): 1-131.
Schofield, W.B. 1976. Bryophytes of British Columbia III: habitat and
distributional information for selected mosses. Syesis 9: 317 –
354.
Smith, A. 2004. The Moss Flora of Britain and Ireland. Second Edition.
Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, England. 1012 pp.
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