Macromitrium laevigatum Thér.

Thouvenot, Louis, 2019, A review of the genus Macromitrium Brid. (Orthotrichaceae, Bryophyta) in New Caledonia, Cryptogamie, Bryologie 20 (16), pp. 167-217 : 190

Macromitrium laevigatum Thér.

( Figs 1D , 11)

Diagnoses d’Espèces et de Variétés nouvelles de Mousses 8: 5 (1910).

TYPE. — New Caledonia. Mt Koghis, troncs d’arbre, Franc s.n. (lecto-, designated here fide Guo in Sched. [2007]: 1909, Franc s.n. PC [ PC 0083685]!; isolecto-, PC [ PC 0083686!, PC 0083687]).

DISTRIBUTION IN NEW CALEDONIA. — This species is only known from the type collection and a few old specimens, without locality indicated. Thus, its distribution and ecology remain unknown.

TOTAL RANGE. — Endemic to New Caledonia (South Province).

SELECTED SPECIMEN. — New Caledonia, 1913, Franc s.n., PC0721080 (Herbarium I. Thériot) (PC).

DESCRIPTION

Sexuality

Unknown.

Plant

Medium, young upper parts light green, main parts usually light more or less red tinged, at least the costae, creeping stems densely branched.

Branches

Medium, 10-20 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, straight, simple or furcate, when dry curly, with leaves erect to patent, individually twisted, strongly carinate, the apices circinate to coiled and exposed by the margin, when moist patent and sinuous with basal and middle parts recurved and apices incurved. When mounted, leaf apices remain incurved and carinate and hard to flatten.

Branch leaves

Medium, 1.3-1.7 mm long, 0.3-0.4 mm wide, lanceolate to ligulate above oblong basal parts, apices obtuse to shortly acute or apiculate, upper parts obscure, transitional parts very short, basal parts differentiated (1/2-)1/3 the whole leaf length, costae thin, ending in apices or short excurrent in mucrones or apiculi.

Upper cells

Small, 7-8 µm wide, single-layered thorough, in conspicuous longitudinal rows, quadrate with rounded lumina, thick walls, not bulging, strongly papillose, marginal cells undifferentiated, transitional cells poorly differentiated, lower cells smooth thorough, rectangular elongated, 20-35 µm long, 8-10 µm wide, thick walled, lumina narrow, sinuous.

Perichaetia

Conspicuous, sheathing the setae base, inner perichaetial leaves hyaline, oblong-ligulate to sub-triangular, apices obtuse, costae ending in the apices.

Calyptrae

Plicate, naked.

Setae

Short, 2-2.5 mm long, vaginulae naked.

Capsules

2 mm long, elliptic, smooth, rims slightly plicate, brown, erect.

Peristomes

Single.

REMARKS

In the diagnosis, Thériot (1910b) describes cells smooth thorough (omnibus laevibus, hence the name laevigatum ), while, in the type, the upper cells have numerous small papillae.

According to Thériot, Macromitrium laevigatum is close to M. leratii but smaller in all parts. But, in M. laevigatum , the wide acute apices, single-layered, of the relatively shorter branch leaves are distinctive, especially from the smallest forms of M. leratii , whose branch leaves are long acuminate and locally bistratose at apices.

Macromitrium salakanum and M. semperi have similar appearance by the shape and arrangement of branch leaves as well in dry as in wet conditions, but both are larger plants and, in addition, the first have hairy calyptrae and the second aristate perichaetial leaves.

Figures

FIG. 1. — Dry branch habits of Macromitrium Brid. (I) A, M. microstomum Hook. & Grev.; B, M. cardotii Thér.; C, M. francii Thér.; D, M. laevigatumThér.; E, M. leratii Broth. & Paris.; F, M. taoense Thér.; G, M. plicatum Thér.; H, M. pilosum Thér.; I, M. pulchrum Besch. From type specimens (B, D, F-I), from specimens Thouvenot NC881 (A), NC2379 (E), from specimen Coulerie COU85 (C). Scale bars: 1 mm.