Golden Sand Moss

Campylopus schmidii does not fruit in North America, where apparently only female plants exist. The range of this species is mainly southeastern Asia. From there it extends south to Queensland, west to Madagascar and Central Africa, east to Hawaii, California, Oregon, and Mexico. In California it is known from two localities, in Oregon from one, and in Mexico from one, which suggests that the occurrence of C. schmidii may result from occasional long distance dispersal events across the Pacific Ocean; it may not be native in North America. The first collection was made in California in 1933. Plants of C. schmidii resemble C. pilifer but are distinguished by elongate-oval rather than oval distal laminal cells and costa smooth at the abaxial surface and not with lamellae 3-4 cells high as in C. pilifer. Campylopus introflexus has lamellae 2 cells high and a similar areolation as C. pilifer but is distinguished in the field by reflexed hairpoints. All three species are more or less vicariant sister species, C. introflexus in the subantarctic to subtropical parts of the southern hemisphere, C. pilifer in tropical India, Africa, and South America and from there extending to southeastern North America and southwestern Europe, and C. schmidii mainly in southeastern Asia.

Plants 2-5 cm, yellowish green, stiff, evenly foliate, the perichaetia in comal tufts. Leaves 5-6 mm, erect-patent when wet, appressed when dry, from oblong base gradually contracted to a long subula, ending in a straight, hyaline, serrate tip; alar cells hardly differentiated; basal laminal cells thin-walled, rectangular, hyaline; distal laminal cells chlorophyllose, oval to narrow or elongate oval, incrassate; costa filling ¹/2-²/3 of leaf width, in transverse section showing adaxial hyalocysts as large as the median deuter cells, and abaxial groups of stereids, ribbed abaxially. Specialized asexual reproduction by deciduous buds produced in the distalmost part of the stem. Sporophytes not known from North America.

Plants medium-sized to rather large, usually (1–)2–4(–6) cm high, yellowish green, golden brown or dark brown below, shiny, in loose or compact tufts. Stems erect or ascending, often dichotomously branched, sometimes simple, scarcely tomentose below. Leaves erect or appressed when dry, erect-patent or scarcely altered when moist, rarely homomallous, lanceolate, 3–7 mm long, gradually narrowed from a rather broad, concave, oblong-ovate base to a long, subulate acumen; margins plane and entire below, slightly involute above, serrulate near the apex; costa occupying ca. 2/3 the leaf base width, long-excurrent, ending in a rather long, hyaline, serrulate point, roughened at back in the upper part, with only dorsal stereid band in transverse section; costal cells of abaxial surface long-rectangular; upper cells rhomboidal or narrowly hexagonal, thick-walled; basal cells rectangular, becoming narrower at margins, rather thin-walled; alar cells forming indistinct auricles, rounded quadrate to hexagonal, not clearly inflated, hyaline or reddish brown. Dioicous. Perichaetial leaves large, erect, sheathing at base. Setae flexuose when dry, cygneous when moist, ca. 10 mm long; capsules ovoid, strongly inclined, contracted below the mouth; opercula conic-rostrate. Calyptrae cucullate, finged at base. Spores ca. 15 µm in diameter, papillose.

Distribution: China, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, New Guinea, Hawaii, Australia, and western North America.

Habitat: on soil or rocks.

Dicranum schmidii Müller Hal., Bot. Zeitung (Berlin) 11: 37. 1853; Campylopus aureus Bosch & Sande La Coste

Campylopus aureus Bosch & Sande Lac., Bryol. Jav. 1: 80. 1858.