Growth form sympodial

La Farge-England (1996) provided a detailed overview of growth form, branching pattern and perichaetial position in mosses. She also provided definitions of sympodial and monopodial branching patterns, indicating that these processes occurred at different hierarchical levels. 

An important variation of this pattern of sympodial dendroid-stipitate growth is the production of elongate creeping or pendant forms. In these forms the distinction between stolon, stipe and frond is not clear and the orderly production of new primary modules breaks down. The result is an unsettled morphology with a mix of stolon, stipe and frond characteristics. These are called reiteration complexes, emphasizing that it is occurring at the point of reiteration, the point of production of a new architectural unit (Tangney, 1998). 

---