Daltonia W. J. Hook. & T. Taylor
Family: Daltoniaceae (14 genera total)
Name Origin: Named for the Rev. James Dalton, an amateur botanist in Yorkshire, England in the 19th century who described
a number of British moss species. No common name is known. Type Specimen and Locality: D. splachnoides (Sm.) W. J. Hook. & T. Taylor, Ireland. Distribution: This genus is mostly found in tropic and subtropic locations, however, there are a few collections of
D. splachnoides from Ireland and the United States (Bartram 1931). It exists on all continents except Antarctica (Yu et al. 2010). Habitat: The species within Daltonia are generally found in two habitat types: Those species that exist within a
limited range are most often found at high elevations on the lower branches and trunks of trees (Yu et al. 2010).
Species of a more cosmopolitan distribution are found over a wider range of elevations and are usually epiphytic
canopy plants (Yu et al. 2010). Gametophytic Characteristics: The gametophyte is characterized by gametophores that are unbranched or have very little
branching, rhizoids that branch in a pinnate pattern, leaves with only one costa and a differentiated leaf border
(Yu et al. 2010). Some sources list all species as monecious (Yu et al. 2010), though there are reports in the literature of a
diocious species (D. fenestrellata, Griffen 1980). Species are differentiated by leaf cell shapes, leaf border characteristics,
and the degree of curling shown by the leaves when dry, among other features (Bartram 1931, Griffen 1980). Sporophyte Characteristics: The sporophytes tend to have calyptae that are mitrate (bonnet-shaped, or rounded with folds) and
covered with cilia (Yu et al. 2010). Links to Interesting Sites and Pictures:
Daltonia music links:
Literature Cited:
Web page written by Emily Johnston
www.biology.duke.edu/bryology/PEET/Home.html (Daltoniaceae research project)
flickr.com/photos/davidtng/2144410653/ (photograph of D. splachnoides)
delta-intkey.com/britms/images/berke03.jpg (herbarium sketch)
Both videos are fantastic; please visit them.
Kids playing air instruments to the Chilean techno group Daltonia:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABuoCCLuZnk&NR=1
An El Salvadorian garage band called Daltonia:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=555FVExzpwU&feature=related
Bartram, Edwin B. A review of the American species of Daltonia. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 1931. 51(1): 31-48.
Griffen, Dana. Studies on Colmbian Cryptograms. IX. Daltonia fenestrellata (Musci: Daltoniaceae), A new species from Columbia. Brittonia. 1980. 32(2): 214-216.
Yu, Jing, Nicolas Devos, Piers Majestyk, A. Jonathan Shaw. Internationally disjunct species are derived rather than relictual in the
moss genus Daltonia (Bryophyta). Taxon. 2010. 59(2): 459-465.
May 2010
