Water Screw-moss

It is commonly found in Europe and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Syntrichia latifolia grows on trees, sidewalks, and concrete.

When a haploid spore or gemmae lands on suitable surface, it will germinate into a haploid gametophytic generation. First it will grow into a protonematal stage, where rhizoids and protonematal filaments develop and anchor to the substratum. Then, leafy gametophytic shoots develop. When the gametophyte is mature, it will either produce antheridia or archegonia, as it is dioicous and thus only produces either female or male structures on one plant. When a haploid sperm cell produced in an antheridia swims down the neck canal of the archegonia, it will fertilize the haploid egg inside, producing a diploid zygote. The sporophyte generation grows from the diploid zygote. The diploid seta elongates and the diploid sporangium matures at the tip. Inside the sporangium, spores undergo meiosis to become haploid before reaching maturity. When they are ready to be released and the outer peristome teeth are dry, they are dispersed into the wind.

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