Habitat: Commonly found on cliffs, rock outcrops, and boulders or otherwise on calcareous soil or rock. Also found on sand near the Great Lakes.

Distribution: Greenland to Alaska, South to North Carolina, Colorado, Connecticut, South Dakota, Great Lakes Region, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Montana, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Central and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Gametophytes: 0.5-5.0cm high, in dull yellowish green to yellow-brown tufts. Leaves are erect-spreading to flexuose, when dry they are strongly contorted with spirally curled tips (the spiral contortion when dry is diagnostic of the tortuosa species). When wet the leaves are 4-6.5mm long, linear lancolate from a somewhat broader, oblong base and concave. The costa is single, excurrent, and yellowish. The leaf cells are multipapillose on both surfaces (excluding the V-shaped region of hyaline cells). The differentiated hyaline cells are the most distinguishing feature of the genus Tortella. These cells are smooth and extend up the margins of the leaves in a V-shape. The hyaline cells are longer and rectangular while the inner cells are shorter and hexagonal to rectangular in shape.

Sporophytes: Setae are terminal, single, erect and approximately 9-27mm long. The capsules (1.5-3.3mm) are solitary on the seta, which arise from the stem apex. The capsules are smooth and greenish to yellowish brown and reddish around the mouth. The capsule is operculate and has 16 long, red, peristome teeth that are spirally wound together.

Literature Cited
Crum, Howard. 1983. Mosses of the Great Lakes Forest. 3rd Edition. 108-111.
Ireland, R.R. 1982. Moss Flora of the Maritime Provinces. National Museum of Canada. 738pp.

Written by Katie Schmitzer 2003