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= Tortula muralis =

Tortula muralis, commonly known as wall screw-moss, is a species of moss in the family Pottiaceae. T. muralis is found globally.

Description
The morphology of the T. muralis is extremely variable. The characteristic of this species is very indefinite in that the size, the thickness of the leaf margins, the length of the costa as well as the leaf shape can all have a wide range of variation.

Gametophyte:
T. muralis forms small dark-green turfs up to 0.5 cm tall. The leaves are rounded at the base and pointed at the apex. T. muralis leaves have a multistratose costa and a unistratose, recurved leaf margins that can be easily differentiated from the unistratose papillose laminal cells. The costa extends beyond the blade of the leaf forming a white hairpoint. T. muralis is dioicous, meaning that the male and female reproductive structure are located on different plants.

Sporophyte:
During the spring, the sporophyte are matured, elongating their seta longer than their gametophytic structure and become red-brown in color. Like other species in the genus Tortula, the sporophyte has a twisted seta. T. muralis have a well-developed to reduced peristome teeth that are composed of 32 filaments spirally twisted and move hygroscopically for spore dispersal.

Habitat and Geographic Distribution
T. muralis can be found in urban areas, low to moderate elevations, that substrates commonly on concrete, cement and brick walls. But also, it can be found on a rock and on a tree bark. Distribution of T. muralis is said to be cosmopolitan, meaning that it is widely distributed across the globe and can be found in a variety of conditions. It is found in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Atlantic Island, New Zealand, Australia.

Taxonomy and Classification
T. muralis is in the genus Tortula, which has approximately 100 different species. Due to the largely diverse genus Tortula, there are groups of taxa within the genus that are more closely related than others. The genus Tortula and the genus Barbula were used interchangeably since most of the species in the Barbula were part of the Tortula. Therefore, there are many species that were once labelled as part of the genus Tortula, now not part of it.

T. muralis complex consist of four taxa (T. lingulate, T. obtusifolia, T. muralis var. aestiva, T. muralis var. muralis), two of which are T. muralis varieties. The four taxa are similar in appearance and are commonly mistaken amongst each other.


 * T. lingulate: have a realatively large spore size (10 – 18.5 µm) compared to the other three (7.5 – 13.5 µm).
 * T. obtusifolia and T. muralis var. aestiva: both have short hairpoints and difficult to distinguish.
 * T. muralis var. muralis: very similar to T. muralis var. aestiva but have longer hairpoints and grows in high sun-exposure and dry conditions.

Life Cycle
Just as in all other Bryophytes, T. muralis undergoes an alternation of heteromorphic generations, meaning that it alternates between two generations: Gametophyte and Sporophyte.

Gametophyte generation (Haploid)
The haloid gametophyte generation is the dominant state. Begins with the haploid spores that gives rise to protonema, and eventually producing the gametophyte. The gametophyte then develops the reproductive structures: archegonium, the female reproductive structure that produces eggs, and antheridium, the male reproductive structure that produces sperms. The egg and the sperm fuse together to form a diploid zygote.

Sporophyte generation (Diploid)
The diploid sporophyte generation begins when the zygote is formed. The zygote eventually becomes an embryo and gives rise to the sporophyte which produces spores through meiosis and are released when conditions are optimal.

Use of Economic Importance
Mosses have been used to monitor long-term air pollution such as trace metal depositions. Mosses are used as air quality trackers because the elements are drawn into the moss through air absorption as well as water absorption in which the rain carries the elements into the tissues. Ultimately, the absorbed element concentration in the moss precisely measures the air pollution in the atmosphere. In most cases, mosses with a pleurocarpous growth habit are used because they are more sensitive to dryness and pollution. However, not many are found in urban areas and thus, T. muralis, an acrocarpous moss, are used to monitor long-term air pollution in urban areas.

Conservation Status
T. muralis is recognized as a G5 status indicating that the species is "globally secure, abundant, and demonstrably widespread".