Autoicous. Plants spreading, 10–25 mm long, in flat yellowish green or greyish green tufts. Stems usually creeping, with dense erect branches. Leaves appressed and slightly twisted, with projecting apices when dry, linear-lanceolate or lanceolate, 1.0–2.1 mm long, expanding to an ovate or oblong base; apex narrowly acuminate to acute; margin plane or slightly recurved in middle mostly on one side; costa ending below apex; upper laminal cells irregularly isodiametric, 9–11 µm wide; basal laminal cells almost vermicular; basal marginal cells in 1–6 rows.

Perichaetial leaves variable, often with an obtuse apex, usually with a broader somewhat sheathing base. Setae 3.0–3.5 (–5.5) mm long. Capsules oblong or subcylindrical, less than 1.5 mm long, when empty contracted at mouth and finely ribbed to the top of the short neck; stomata in lower part of urn; operculum with a yellow rim. Peristome with exostome teeth recurved when dry, yellow; endostome segments 8, filiform, smooth, hyaline. Spores unicellular, 24–32 µm diameter, finely papillose, brown or yellowish

This species is characterised by the usually creeping stems and the small branch leaves with comparatively broad bases, mostly appressed and little-altered when dry.

Chromosome number not known for Australia; n = 11 (New Zealand), cited in H.P. Ramsay, J. Hattori Bot. Lab. 74: 188 (1993).

Native.

Ulota viridis Venturi, in V.F.Brotherus, Oefvers Förh. Finska Vetensk.-Soc. 35: 43 (1893). Type: near springs, Mt Wellington, Tas., 15 Oct. 1890, W.A.Weymouth 901; holo: TR; iso: HO.

Taxonomic synonyms

Ulota anceps Venturi, in V.F. Brotherus, Oefvers Förh. Finska Vetensk.-Soc. 35: 42 (1893). Type: Springs to Ferntree, Mount Wellington, Tas., 7 Mar. 1891, W.A.Weymouth 900; holo: H-BR; iso: HO.

Ulota appressa Mitt. ex Watts & Whitel., Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales 30 (Suppl.): 96 (1906), nom. inval. (in synon.).

Malta (Acta Horti Bot. Univ. Latv. 7: 21–22 (1933)) examined a number of Weymouth collections, some of which have isotypes in HO with earlier names, e.g. U. anceps (W.A.Weymouth 900) published simultaneous with U. viridis, and U. appressa (W.A.Weymouth 1547). Although Malta reported U. anceps as being a robust form of U. viridis, comparison of the types shows them to be very similar in size. No type specimen of U. anceps was located at TR.

One noteworthy specimen labelled Ulota appressa Mitt. “on wood Guy Fawkes Rivulet, near Hobart, Tasmania, 6/9/1890 W.A.Weymouth 1547” (HO) is annotated “BM, = U. anceps Venturi n. sp.”. This may be part of the specimen named but never published by Mitten. It is not, however, the type specimen of U. anceps, described later in 1893. An additional annotation reads “Vent. in litt. 1896” indicating Venturi’s opinion that it was a synonym of Ulota anceps. H.N.Dixon (Bull. New Zealand Inst. 3(6): 366, 1929) examined two New Zealand specimens collected by Bell and annotated by Mitten with the nomen nudum U. appressa, but with an incorrect reference to Tasmania.

There are two varieties of U. viridis in Australia, var. viridis and var. dixonii; the latter was previously recognised as a distinct species.

H.P. Ramsay, D.H. Vitt & J. Lewinsky-Haapasaari (2012), Australian Mosses Online 47. Orthotrichaceae. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. Version16 June 2012.

First published as: H.P.Ramsay (2006), Orthotrichaceae: Ulota, Fl. Australia 51: 228–236. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra & CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.