E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Species description:
Species name referring to the many setae supporting the sporangia that emerge from the tips of each· sporophyte-bearing plant and support the sporangia.

Reproduction:
Sporophytes common in spring and summer, the sev­eral sporophytes arising on each shoot being characteristic. Setae yel­lowish and sporangia light brown when mature.

Distinguishing characteristics:
The markedly undulate leaves, the dense matting of rhizoids, the multiple sporophytes and the general restric­tion to well-drained sites in drier coniferous forest, are usually reliable features.

Habit:
Forming tall, loose turfs of light green, somewhat glossy, erect plants densely clothed in pale rhizoids on the stems at the leaf bases

Similar Species:
D. majus also has multiple sporophytes but, unlike D. polysetum, the leaves are not strongly undulate or are the stems densely matted with rhizoids. D. majus is confined mainly to extremely humid shaded forests near the coast. D. affine has undulate leaves but the plants form dense tufts in peatland and sporophytes are commonly solitary on each shoot.