1A Capsules when dry and empty strongly constricted below mouth, with ribs separated by narrow furrows, collapsed at the constricted area of the urn; exothecial bands formed by four to six rows of cells, reaching the mouth or nearly so; exostome teeth remaining tightly fused in pairs in empty capsules, bordered by a hyaline halo. Distribution west coast of North America...U. cripsa s.s.
1B. Capsules when dry and empty not or slightly constricted below mouth, with ribs separated by more or less broad furrows in the upper half of urn; exothecial bands formed by two to four (five) rows of cells, visibly separated from the mouth by a ring of small thin-walled cells; pairs of exostome teeth partially splitting in empty capsules, teeth not bordered by a hyaline halo...2
2A. Endostome segments incurved when dry, uniseriate with thickened and prominent transverse walls; all the cells of the exothecial bands hyaline with pale yellow thickened lateral walls; leaves markedly crisped when dry, abruptly narrowing from a concave base. Distribution - western and eastern North America...U. intermedia
2B. Endostome segments variably bent when dry, uniseriate or irregularly biseriate with thin transverse walls; cells of the exothecial bands evenly pale yellow, at least in the two central rows; leaves slightly or moderately crisped when dry, gradually narrowing from a plane to slightly concave base. Distribution - widespread throughout eastern North America...U. crispula
from - "Integrative taxonomy sheds light on an old problem: the Ulota crispa complex" - Caparros et al 2016
Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, Volume 180, Issue 4, April 2016, Pages 427–451, https://doi.org/10.1111/boj.12397
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last update 2023-Jan-26