BRYOPHYTES OF KONZA PRAIRIE BIOLOGICAL STATION, KANSAS

(From Merrill, G.L. Smith. 1991. Brophytes of Konza Prairie Biological Station, Kansas. The Bryologist 94(4):383-391.

Fifty eight species of mosses (37 genera, 18 families) and 4 species of liverworts (3 genera, 3 families) are reported from Konza Prairie Biological Station.

SPECIES LIST -- In the list which follows, frequency is indicated according to the following scale: "rare" = 1-5 collections, "scarce" = 6-15, and "frequent" = 16 or more. The list is based on more than 600 specimens, collected for the most part between September 1987 and May 1988. Several species (indicated by *) are included in the list which have not yet been found on Konza Prairie, but have been collected in similar habitats nearby. Species which have been collected with sporophytes on Konza Prairieare indicated by "c. fr." Nomenclature of mosses, as well as the sequence of families, for the most part follows that of Crum and Anderson (1981). Voucher specimens are deposited in the Reed Bryophyte Herbarium, Kansas State University Herbarium (KSC).

ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BRYOPHYTES OF KONZA PRAIRIE

CLASS BRYOPSIDA

:

*ARCHIDIACEAE:

Archidium alternifolium (Hedw.) Schimp. Rare; on a prairie ridge top less than 1 km N of Konza Prairie (Merrill 1991a); c. fr.

FISSIDENTACEAE:

Fissidens cristatus Wils. ex Mitt. Rare; on soil at head of gully in prairie burned only once in 20 years.

Fissidens kansanus (Ren. & Card) Smyth & Smyth. Rare; similar to the following in habitat and often considered a variety of that species. Fissidens kansanus typically has a well-developed border of linear cells along the sheathing lamina; c. fr.

Fissidens obtusifolius Wils. Scarce on limestone in shaded stream beds, especially at the brinks of falls; also on a deeply pitted limestone ledge in open prairie.

DITRICHACEAE:

Ceratodon purpureus (Hedw.) Brid. Rare; on burned-out tree trunk on a steep bank in shrub thicket; also on compacted soil beside buildings.

Pleuridium subulatum (Hedw.) Rabenh. Rare, as elsewhere in the state (Merrill 1991a); on soil under grasses in open prairie; c. fr.

DICRANACEAE:

Dicranella varia (Hedw.) Schimp. Rare on shaded vertical clay banks of streams, in forest and shrub thickets.

POTTIACEAE:

Astomum muehlenbergianum (Sw.) Grout. Frequent on thin soil over level outcrop ledges and on soil under grasses in open prairie; difficult to distinguish from Weissia controversa when strerile, but easily recognizable when fruiting abundantly in the spring; c. fr.

Astomum phascoides (Hook. ex Drumm.) Grout. Rare, as elsewhere in the state (Merrill 1989); on soil covering level limestone outcrop in annually-burned prairie; c. fr.

Barbula unguiculata Hedw. Frequent on shaded to exposed rock ledges and boulders, less commonly on moist soil along stream banks; in forest and shrub thickets.

Desmatodon plinthobius Sull. & Lesq. Scarce on shaded to exposed, pitted broken limestone ledges and boulders; also on a broken concrete slab; c. fr.

Didymodon tophaceus (Bird.) Lisa. Frequent; forming dense, dark-green cushions on rocks in stream beds, especially at the brinks of falls, typically encrusted with lime; also in hillside seeps and springs in prairie, with other mosses and masses of Chara.

Phascum cuspidatum Hedw. Scarce on thin soil in bare patches over outcrop ledges in open prairie, typically in shallow depressions where water stands after a rain; also on soil under grasses in open prairie. Fruiting abundantly in spring.

Totula pagorum (milde) De Not. Rare on bark of trees in the gallery forest; also on loose bark of a decaying log.

Weissa controversa Hedw. Frequent on shaded to exposed thin soil covering level limestone outcrop ledges, in shrub thickets, and on soil under grasses in open prairie; c. fr.

GRIMMIACEAE:

Schistidium alpicola (Hedw.) Limpr. Frequent on shaded dry limestone ledges and boulders in shrub thickets, also in gallery forest, and in deeply pitted limestone on prairie hillsides; c. fr.

Schistidium apocarpum (Hedw.) B.S.G. Rare; habitat similar to the preceeding; c. fr.

FUNARIACEAE:

Funaria hygrometrica Hedw. Rare; on soil in grasses on a ridge top in open, annually-burned prairie; c. fr.

Physcomitrium pyriforme (Hedw.) Hampe. Rare on Konza Prairie; in old brome pasture, also among prairie grasses; c. fr.

EPHEMERACEAE:

Ephemerum spinulosum Bruch & Schimp. On soil under grasses in frequently burned prairie; c. fr. Probably frequent on Konza Prairie, based on its occurence in transects made in both upland and lowland sites.

BRYACEAE:

Bryum argenteum Hedw. Scarce on dry thin bare soil on limestone ledges in open prairie; also on compacted soil beside buildings.

Bryum caespiticium Hedw. Scarce on shaded to exposed limestone ledges, in prairie and shrub thicket; c. fr.

Bryum creberrimum auct. Rare; on base of decorticated, burned-out tree trunk on steep slope of gully; c. fr.

Bryum pseudotriquetrum (Hedw,) Gaertn. et al. Scarce; forming cushions on moist soil and ledges beside streams, and in hillside seeps; occasional on moist rotting wood; usually in relatively open sites but also in gallery forest.

Pohlia wahlenbergii (Web, & Mohr) Andr. Rare; on wet clay stream bank.

MNIACEAE:

Plagiomnium cuspidatum (Hedw.) Kop. Frequent on steep shaded soil banks, rotting wood and humus, and bark at bases of trees, in forest and shrub thickets.

BARTRAMIACEAE:

Philonotis marchica (Hedw.) Brid. Scarce on wet soil and rocks in hillside seeps and springs, beside falls, and margins of ponds; in shrub thickets and prairie.

ORTHOTRICHACEAE:

Orthotrichum diaphanum Brid. Rare; on shaded limestone boulders at base of slope in forest, also sterile on bark of a small tree on wooded slope; c. fr.

Orthotrichum ohioense Sull. & Lesq. Rare; on bark of tree in a wooded gully; c. fr.

Orthotrichum pumilum Sw. Rare; on tree bark in gallery forest; c. fr.

Orthotrichum pusillum Mitt. Scarce on bark of trees in forest; c. fr.

Orthotrichum strangulatum P. Beauv. Scarce on shaded limestone boulders in forest; c. fr.

FABRONIACEAE:

Fabronia ciliaris (Brid.) Brid. Scarce on shaded bark of trees, usually on wooded N-facing slopes; also on a shaded limestone ledge; c. fr.

LESKEACEAE:

Leskea gracilescens Hedw. Frequent on bark at base of many trees and shrubs, and on decorticated wood in forest and shrub thickets; less commonly on shaded limestone ledges; c. fr. One specimen with the leaf characters of L. polycarpa Hedw. was collected on bark at the base of an oak in gallery forest.

Lindbergia brachyptera (Mitt.) Kindb. Scarce on bark of trees, less frequently on decorticated logs, in gallery forest.

THUIDIACEAE:

*Anomodon attenuatus (Hedw.) H�b. Rare; on soil and bases of trees in a wooded ravine N of Konza Prairie.

Anomodon minor (Hedw.) Furnr. Scarce on bark of trees and exposed tree roots, less commonly on shaded limestone ledges.

Anomodon rostratus (Hedw.) Schimp. Rare; on vertical face of shaded N-facing limestone ledge, at margin of gallery forrest.

Haplocladium microphyllum (Hedw.) Broth. Rare; on limestone ledge exposed in gully in long-term unburned prairie.

AMBLYSTEGIACEAE:

Amblystegium serpens (Hedw.) B.S.G. Scarce on rotten wood, also on soil on banks of gullies, in forest and shrub thickets; also under deep litter in long-unburned prairie; c. fr. Some collections have the character of A. juratzkanum Shimp.

Amblystegium varium (Hedw.) Lindb. Scarce on rotting wood, shaded limestone ledges, and on soil at margins of ponds and streams, usually in relatively open sites, occasionally c. fr.

Campylium chrysophyllum (Brid.) J.Lange. Rare on soil covering shaded rocks and boulders on steep N-facing wooded slopes.

Campylium hispidulum (Brid.) Mitt. Scarce on bases of trees and shrubs and rotten wood, less commonly on soil over ledges in shrub thickets; usually on N-facing slopes; c. fr.

Drepanocladus anduncus (Hedw.) Warnst. Scarce; emergent in ponds and grassy hillside seeps.

Drepanocladus vernicosus (Mitt.) Warnst. Rare; forming cushions in stream beds, associated with other mosses at the foot of falls and along margins of streams (Merrill 1989).

Hygroamblystegium tenax (Hedw.) Jenn. Frequent in thin mats firmly attached to stones and boulders in stream beds; usually in relatively open sites; c. fr.

Leptodictyum riparium (Hedw.) Warnst. Frequent on bases of trees and on rotten wood; a large form, the var. fluitans, occurs in trailing strands attached to gravelly stream beds. Frequently c. fr.

BRACHYTHECIACEAE:

Brachythecium acuminatum (Hedw.) Aust. Scarce on bark at bases of trees, less commonly on soil, usually on N-facing wooded slopes.

Brachythecium cyrtophyllum Kindb. Rare on shaded limestone ledges in shrub thickets and gallery forest; often regarded as a variety of the preceding, but distinguished on Konza Prairie by its concave stem leaves and its occurance on shaded rock outcrop ledges (Merrill 1989).

Brachythecium oxycladon (Brid.) Jaeg. Frequent, often in extensive mats on soil in shrub thickets and attenuated gallery forest, also on shaded ledges on N-facing slopes.

Brachythecium salebrosum (Web. & Mohr) B.S.G. Rare; on shaded limestone boulders in shrub thicket (Merrill 1989).

Eurhynchium hians (Hedw.) Sande Lac. Rare; on soil in shrub thicket on steep bank of gully at S edge of Konza Prairie.

Eurhychium pulchellum (Hedw.) Jenn. Rare; deep under matted litter in long- term unburned prairie.

Rhynchostegium serrulatum (Hedw.) Jeag. Frequent on shaded soil banks under shrubs; commonest on N-facing banks and slopes and in elm thickets; also under litter in long-term unburned prairie; uncommonly c. fr.

ENTODONTACEAE:

Entodon compressus C. M�ll. Scarce on rotting wood and decorticated logs in forest and shrub thickets; also on thin soil over shaded limestone ledge; c. fr.

Entodon seductrix (Hedw.) C. M�ll. Frequent on rotting and decorticated wood, and exposed roots of trees; c. fr.

HYPNACEAE:

Homomallium adnatum (Hedw.) Broth. Scarce; in closely appresed mats on shaded limestone ledges, usually on N-facing wooded slopes; c. fr.

Homomallium mexicanum Card. Rare on shaded limestone ledges and boulders in shrub thickets (Merrill 1989); c. fr.

Platygyrium repens (Brid.) B.S.G. Scarce on fallen decorticated trunks in gallery forest; infrequently c. fr.

Taxiphyllum taxirameum (Mitt.) Fl. Rare; on shaded limestone outcrop ledge in shrub thicket.

CLASS HEPATICOPSIDA:

FRULLANIACEAE:

Frullania inflata Gottsche. Frequent on bark of trees and on decaying logs in gallery forest; c. fr.

*PORELLACEAE:

*Porella platyphylloidea (Schwein.) Lindb. Rare; in a wooded ravine N of Konza Prairie.

RICCARDIACEAE:

Riccardia pinguis (L.) Gray. Rare; on wet soil in a seep at the edge of a pond.

RICCIACEAE:

Riccia austinii Steph. Rare; on soil under prairie grasses near headquarters; c. fr.

Riccia sorocarpa Bisch. Rare; on exposed soil over limestone outcrop ledges; c. fr.

*Riccia frostii Aust. Rare; on soil in prairie sites near Manhattan.