Aloina ambigua
Common names
moss
Biostatus
Native
Current conservation status
This is the first complete assessment of all known species of mosses found in the wild in Aotearoa New Zealand with a total of 560 species being assessed. The conservation status of mosses, published in the NZTCS database, replaces all previous assessments of mosses. Data supporting the 2025 NZTCS assessment of mosses has been published on the NZTCS database at https://nztcs.org.nz/reports/1155.
Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2025 | Non-resident Native – Coloniser | Qualifiers: SO
Category
Non-vascular
Structural class
Mosses
Detailed description
Terricolous. Leaves slightly curled when dry, long and spreading when moist, c.1.0-3.0 × 0.3-0.7 mm, lingulate, base shortly sheathing, apex cucullate, incurved, ± obtuse (± subacute when flattened out), margin entire. Upper cells quadrate to rectangular, transversely elongate, trigones prominent, basal cells rectangular, slightly smaller than upper cells, trigones similar, walls firm. Costa ceasing at or below apex, filaments short, 3-6 cells high, branched, terminal cell nearly spherical to elongately ovoid. Dioecious. Seta 6-12 mm long, red, paler above. Capsule erect, elongately cylindrical, dark brown; operculum elongate; annulus narrow, persistant; calyptra hardly covering more than the operculum; peristome teeth weakly twisted when dry, borne separately on a distinct basal membrane projecting above the theca mouth. Spores 14-16 µm.
Distribution
Indigenous. New Zealand: North Island (Te Paki, Hawke’s Bay and Carterton) (see Glenny et al. 2011; also P.J. de Lange unpubl. data). Also Europe, North Africa, North America and Australia (South Australia and Victoria).
Habitat
Lowland. Collected from clay at the bottom of roadside drains and from a cemetery.
Substrate details
Terricolous. On clay. Gatherings have been made from roadside ditches draining siltstone cliff faces and banks, and also from compacted clay within a cemetery.
Threats
Known from only three sites from where it is evidently spreading. Indications are that it is a recent arrival to New Zealand, although whether it is naturalised or indigenous is still not clear. The few known sites are all in sites vulnerable to changes in roading and landuse. Aloina ambigua is abundant in Australia.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Fruiting
September
Other information
Etymology
ambigua: From the Latin ambiguus ‘ambiguous, uncertain’
Previous conservation statuses
This is the first complete assessment of all known species of mosses found in the wild in Aotearoa New Zealand with a total of 560 species being assessed. The conservation status of mosses, published in the NZTCS database, replaces all previous assessments of mosses. Data supporting the 2025 NZTCS assessment of mosses has been published on the NZTCS database at https://nztcs.org.nz/reports/1155.
Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2014 | Non-resident Native – Vagrant | Qualifiers: SO
2010 | Non-resident Native – Vagrant | Qualifiers: SO
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Catcheside, D.G. 1980: Mosses of South Australia. Government Printer, South Australia
Glenny, D.; Fife, A.J.; Brownsey, P.J.; Renner, M.A.M.; Braggins, J.E.; Beever, J.E.; Hitchmough, R. 2011: Threatened and uncommon bryophytes of New Zealand (2010 Revision). New Zealand Journal of Botany 49: 305-327.
Attribution
Fact Sheet Prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 13 October 2011. Description adapted from Catcheside (1980).