黑藓科

Cao Tong and Gao Chien

Plants small to medium-sized, 1–2(–3) cm high, brown, purple-red to black, in dense tufts or in cushions. Stems erect to ascending, single or branched without a well-developed central strand. Leaves imbricate, often closely appressed when dry, erect-spreading to spreading when moist, lanceolate to ovate or panduriform, mostly concave, with obtuse or acute apices; margins plane or incurved; costa absent or single (non-Chinese taxa); upper laminal cells small, subquadrate to short-rectangular, irregularly thick-walled, often papillose; basal laminal cells elongate, strongly and irregularly thick-walled, more or less pitted, sometimes cells near margins subquadrate or short-rectangular. Dioicous or autoicous. Perichaetial leaves mostly larger than upper stem leaves, sheathing and convolute, oblong-ligulate, obtuse to acuminate. Pseudopodium produced by elongation of gametophytic axis, brown to dark brown. Capsules erect, mostly exserted, ovate to ovate-oblong, vertically splitting into 4(–5) valves from the apex to the middle of capsules or to the base when mature. Calyptrae small, mitrate. Spores brown, tetrahedral, papillose. Protonemata thalloid.

The family consists of a single genus, Andreaea Hedw. (Vitt 1984; Murray1988).

Lower Taxon

• Andreaea Hedw.