Aloina rigida, Laubm. Deutschl. 1: 637. 1888. -- Barbula rigida Hedw., Spec. Musc. 115. 1801. -- Barbula macrorhyncha Kindb. ex Mac. & Kindb., Cat. Canad. Pl. 6: 50. 1892. -- Aloina macrorhyncha (Kindb.) Kindb., Spec. Eur. N. Am. Bryin. 2: 270. 1897. -- Aloina stellata Kindb., Laubm. Schwed. & Norw. 137. 1883.

   Plants in green to brownish-green low turfs with the stems so short as to often be buried in the substratum. Leafy stems to 2 mm high but with the stem seldom exceeding 2 mm. Leaves deeply concave and distally cucullate, erect-spreading wet or dry, mostly with incurved apices when dry. Leaves oblong to ligulate-oblong, 2.5–3.5: 1, without awn on the rounded apex. Lamina unistratose throughout. Median laminal cells lateral to the filament-bearing cells, transversely elongate in regular longitudinal rows, to 20 µm broad, 0.5–0.8: 1, with lumen: wall ratio 2–3: 1. Basal marginal cells hyaline and thin-walled, rectangular, 3–5: 1, forming somewhat of a limbidium along the proximal 1/3 of leaf. Cells of adaxial surface of costa rectangular with straight lateral walls, to 12 µm broad, 8–12: 1, smooth, moderately thick-walled. Costa nearly absent near leaf base but obvious distally and percurrent to subpercurrent. Costal cross-section at mid-leaf mostly 5–8 cells thick with the cells forming a single abaxial stereid or substereid band. Most of central leaf closely beset with epapillose filaments to about 8 cells high with the terminal cell markedly shorter than the subterminal cells. Margin entire to minutely crenulate, plane below but becoming strongly inflexed near apex. Axillary hairs hyaline, to 150 µm long, 4–6 celled, with no basal brown cells. Rhizoids arranged along abaxial costal insertion, hyaline to whitish, coarsely papillose and sparingly branched, to 50 µm wide at insertion.

   Dioicous with male plants markedly smaller than female plants. Perichaetial leaves similar to the vegetative leaves. Seta mostly more than 10 mm long, straight and smooth. Urn cylindric, to 3 mm long, about 3–5: 1, neither sulcate nor strangulate. Operculum short rostrate, to 2/3 of urn length. Calyptra cucullate and glabrous, covering distal 1/2 of capsule. Annulus well-defined, revoluble. Peristome to 1200 µm long, yellow-brown, twisted in a complete spiral, with a basal membrane which comprises about 1/2 of total length. Exothecial cells rectangular, with lateral walls parallel and somewhat pitted, 25–30 µm wide, 3–5: 1. Spores to 20 µm, spherical and smooth.

Catalog Notes: Excluded by Malcolm et al. 2009.

Vouchers: Fresno Co.: Warthan Creek about 7 miles from Coalinga, Norris 55133; Madera Co.: County Road 29 near Eastman Lake, Shevock 14915; Monterey Co.: School Hill, Francis Simes Hastings Reservation, Linsdale 301 (UC); Riverside Co.: Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve, SDSU, Kellman 1279b (CAS); San Luis Obispo Co.: Highway 58 about 1 mile east of La Panza Ranch, Norris 76284; Santa Clara Co.: Alum Rock Park, San Jose, Steere & Sharp s.n. (UC); Santa Cruz Co.: near China Grade Road and Highway 236, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Kellman 1307 (CAS).

Literature: Harthill et al. 1979; Kellman 2003; Koch 1950a; Lawton 1971; Mishler 1978; Sayre 1940.

Illustration References: Crum and Anderson 1981; Delgadillo 1975; Ignatov and Ignatova 2003; Lawton 1971; Sharp et al. 1994; Smith 1978; Zander 1993.

Elevation by latitude plot for Aloina rigida
   in California