Belongs within: Dicranaceae.
Dicranella is a genus of mosses found worldwide, most species of which are small with narrow, silky leaves (Dixon 1924). They can be distinguished from members of the related genus Dicranum by the relatively undifferentiated alar cells in their leaves.
Characters (from Smith 2004): Usually dioicous. Leaves narrow, differentiated in sheathing base and acuminate limb or gradually tapering from insertion, more or less secund or squarrose; margins usually plane, entire or denticulate above; costa ending apex to excurrent; cells rectangular, smooth, alar cells not differentiated. Setae straight, capsules inclined, symmetrical or gibbous, sometimes strumose; annulus present or not; peristome teeth reddish, 16, bifid or divided to about middle in flat segments, papillose above, point-striate below; calyptrae cucullate.
<==Dicranella (Müll.Hal.) Schimp. 1856 (nom. cons.)SK02 |--D. sect. DicranellaS04 [incl. D. sect. Pseudodicranella (Müll. Hal.) Nyholm 1987OZB-O03, S04] | |--*D. heteromalla (Hedw.) Schimp. 1856OZB-O03, S04 (see below for synonymy) | | |--D. h. var. heteromallaD24 | | `--D. h. var. orthocarpa non D. curvata f. orthocarpa Thériot 1896D24 | |--D. cerviculata (Hedw.) Schimp. 1856S04 (see below for synonymy) | | |--D. c. var. cerviculataD24 | | `--D. c. var. pusilla [=Dicranum pusillum]D24 | |--D. crispa (Hedw.) Schimp. 1856S04 (see below for synonymy) | |--D. grevilleana (Brid.) Schimp. 1856S04 (see below for synonymy) | |--D. rufescens (With.) Schimp. 1856S04 (see below for synonymy) | |--D. staphylina Whitehouse 1969 [incl. Anisothecium staphylinum]S04 | |--D. subulata (Hedw.) Schimp. 1856S04 (see below for synonymy) | `--D. varia (Hedw.) Schimp. 1856S04 (see below for synonymy) `--D. sect. Anisothecium (Kindb.) Ochyra in Ochyra, Żarnowiec & Bednarek-Ochyra 2003OZB-O03 (see below for synonymy) |--D. schreberiana (Hedw.) Hilfarty ex Crum & Anderson 1981S04 (see below for synonymy) | |--D. s. var. schreberianaD24 | `--D. ‘schreberi’ var. elataD24 |--D. humilis Ruthe 1873OZB-O03 [incl. D. rubra var. tenellaOZB-O03, D. varia var. tenellaD24] |--'Anisothecium’ patagonicumD03 |--'Anisothecium’ perpusillum Dusén 1903D03 `--'Anisothecium’ rufipesD03 Dicranella incertae sedis: D. apophysatula (Müll.Hal.) Broth. 1901 [=Aongstroemia apophysatula, Microdus apophysatulus]SK02 D. baileyana (Müll.Hal.) Broth. 1901 [=Aongstroemia baileyana, Microdus baileyanus]SK02 D. cardotii (R.Br.bis) Dixon 1923 [incl. D. wattsii, Anisothecium wattsii, Dichodontium wattsii]SK02 D. clathrata [=Anisothecium clathratum (Hooker & Wilson) Broth. 1924]SK02 D. coarctata (Müll.Hal.) Bosch & Sande Lac. 1858SK02 D. dietrichiae (Müll.Hal.) Jaeger 1872 (see below for synonymy)SK02 D. euryphylla Dixon 1942SK02 D. hookeri (Müll.Hal.) Cardot 1906 (see below for synonymy)SK02 D. howei Renauld & Cardot 1893SK02 [incl. Dicranella varia var. tenuifoliaOZB-O03, Dicranum tenuifoliumD24] D. jamesonii (Mitt.) Broth. 1901 [=Anisothecium jamesonii, Leptotrichum jamesonii]SK02 D. molliculaOZB-O03 D. papua-papustrisOZB-O03 D. paucifolia (Müll.Hal.) Paris 1900 [=Aongstroemia paucifolia]SK02 D. perrottetiiJ87 D. pycnoglossa (Broth.) Kindb. 1891 [=Anisothecium pycnoglossum]SK02 D. rotundataOZB-O03 D. stackhousiana (Müll.Hal.) Broth. 1901 [=Aongstroemia stackhousiana, Microdus stackhousianus]SK02 D. vaginataSK02 Nomina nuda: Anisothecium persquarrosum Dusén 1903D03 Dicranella brevisetacea Geh. ex Watts & Whitel. 1902SK02 Dicranella pycnoglossa var. longifolia Broth. & Watts 1918 non D. vaginata var. longifoliaSK02 Dicranella muelleri Hampe ex Bailey 1883SK02 Dicranella pellucida Broth. ex Watts & Whitel. 1899SK02 Dicranella schreberi f. procera Watts & Whitel. 1902SK02 Dicranella trichodontoidea Müll.Hal. ex Geh. 1876SK02
Dicranella sect. Anisothecium (Kindberg) Ochyra in Ochyra, Żarnowiec & Bednarek-Ochyra 2003OZB-O03 [=Anisothecium Mitt. 1869SK02, D. [unranked] Anisothecium Kindberg 1898OZB-O03]
Dicranella cerviculata (Hedw.) Schimp. 1856S04 [=Aongstroemia cerviculataOZB-O03, Dicranum cerviculatumD24, Oncophorus cerviculatusOZB-O03; incl. Dicranella hybridaOZB-O03]
Dicranella crispa (Hedw.) Schimp. 1856S04 [=Anisothecium crispumOZB-O03, Aongstroemia crispaOZB-O03, Dicranum crispumD24; incl. Anisothecium vaginaleS04, Dicranella vaginalisOZB-O03]
Dicranella dietrichiae (Müll.Hal.) Jaeger 1872 [=Aongstroemia dietrichiae; incl. A. tricruris, Dichodontium tricrure, Dicranella tricruris (Müll.Hal.) Mitt. 1882]SK02
Dicranella grevilleana (Brid.) Schimp. 1856S04 [=Dicranum grevilleanumD24, Anisothecium grevilleanumS04, Dicranella schreberi var. grevilleanaOZB-O03]
*Dicranella heteromalla (Hedw.) Schimp. 1856OZB-O03, S04 [=Aongstroemia heteromallaOZB-O03, Bryum heteromallumD24, Dicranum heteromallumOZB-O03; incl. Dicranella fusco-rufaD24, Dicranella heteromalla var. interruptaOZB-O03, Dicranum interruptumD24, Dicranella heteromalla f. sericeaOZB-O03, Dicranodontium sericeumOZB-O03, Dicranella heteromalla f. strictaOZB-O03]
Dicranella hookeri (Müll.Hal.) Cardot 1906 [=Anisothecium hookeri (Müll.Hal.) Broth. 1924; incl. Aongstroemia perdivaricata, Dicranella perdivaricata]SK02
Dicranella rufescens (With.) Schimp. 1856S04 [=Bryum rufescensD24, Anisothecium rufescensS04, Aongstroemia rufescensOZB-O03, Dicranum rufescensOZB-O03]
Dicranella schreberiana (Hedw.) Hilfarty ex Crum & Anderson 1981S04 [=Anisothecium schreberianum (Hedw.) Dixon 1933OZB-O03, Dicranum schreberianumOZB-O03; incl. Aongstroemia schreberiOZB-O03, Dicranum schreberi (nom. illeg.)D24, Dicranella (sect. *Anisothecium) schreberi (Bruch & Schimper) Schimper 1856OZB-O03]
Dicranella subulata (Hedw.) Schimp. 1856S04 [=Aongstroemia subulataOZB-O03, Dicranum subulatumOZB-O03; incl. A. curvataOZB-O03, Dicranella subulata var. curvata (Hedw.) Rabenh. 1863OZB-O03, S04, OZB-O03, Dicranum curvatumD24, Dicranella secundaS04, Dicranum secundumD24, Dicranum sudeticumOZB-O03]
Dicranella varia (Hedw.) Schimp. 1856S04 [=Anisothecium variumS04, Aongstroemia variaOZB-O03, Dicranum variumD24; incl. Bryum callistomumD24, Dicranella varia var. callistomaOZB-O03, Anisothecium rubrumD24, Dicranella rubraOZB-O03]
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[D24] Dixon, H. N. 1924. The Student’s Handbook of British Mosses 3rd ed. V. V. Sumfield: Eastbourne.
[D03] Dusén, P. 1903. Patagonian and Fuegian mosses. In: Scott, W. B. (ed.) Reports of the Princeton University Expeditions to Patagonia, 1896–1899 vol. 8. Botany pp. 63–126. The University: Princeton (New Jersey).
[J87] Judd, W. S. 1987. Floristic study of Morne La Visite and Pic Macaya National Parks, Haiti. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum—Biological Sciences 32 (1): 1–136.
[OZB-O03] Ochyra, R., J. Żarnowiec & H. Bednarek-Ochyra. 2003. Census Catalogue of Polish Mosses. Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences: Cracow.
[S04] Smith, A. J. E. 2004. The Moss Flora of Britain and Ireland 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press.
[SK02] Streimann, H., & N. Klazenga. 2002. Catalogue of Australian Mosses. Flora of Australia Supplementary Series 17. Australian Biological Resources Study: Canberra.