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Tetraphis

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Tetraphis
Tetraphis pellucida
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Bryophyta
Class: Tetraphidopsida
Order: Tetraphidales
Family: Tetraphidaceae
Genus: Tetraphis
Hedw.
Species
Synonyms

Georgia Müller Hal.

Tetraphis is a genus of two species of mosses (Bryophyta). Its name refers to its four large peristome teeth.

Reproduction

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The sex of Tetraphis shoots can transform depending on the shoot density. When a colony is sparse female—gemmae-producing—shoots dominate. When the colony is sufficiently dense they transform into male shoots.[1]

This density-dependent sexual reproduction strategy is common in fish but Tetraphis is the first moss in which this has been documented.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Robin Wall Kimmerer (2003). Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses. ISBN 9780870714993.