Hookeria Smith, 1808

Hookeria is our single generic representative of a large tropical complex.

Key to Hookeria

The mosses keyed in this section combine complanate and ecostate leaves with median cell size such that one can see those cells with the naked eye.

Species included are all in Hookeriaceae:
Hookeria acutifolia W. J. Hooker & Greville, not known from CA
Hookeria lucens (Hedwig) J. E. Smith

Hookeria lucens is restricted to the perhumid areas of coastal and mountainous northern California. It is especially common on organic soil of trail banks and in small organic soil depressions of shallow winter water accumulation. One of the more interesting features of both the species of western North America is the production of rhizoids from the tips of the leaves. Even when rhizoids are absent, one can find in the leaf apices groups of radically shorter and thinner walled cells that function as "nematogons," cells of the leaves that are capable of producing rhizoids. Hookeria acutifolia is occasionally found in Washington State on mineral soil of vertical creek banks. It should be looked for on similar banks in northern California.

A. Leaf apex obtuse .....Hookeria lucens
A. Leaf apex acute .....Hookeria acutifolia not known from CA