Marsupella koreana Bakalin et Fedosov, Cryptogamie, Bryologie 40(7): 67, 2019

Bakalin, Vadim, Choi, Seung Se & Park, Seung Jin, 2021, Revision of Gymnomitriaceae (Marchantiophyta) in the Korean Peninsula, PhytoKeys 176, pp. 77-110 : 77

Marsupella koreana Bakalin et Fedosov, Cryptogamie, Bryologie 40(7): 67, 2019 Figure 3

Type.

South Korea, Gyeongsangnam-do, Jiri Mts., National Park , 7.V.2015, Bakalin V. A. Kor-28-4-15 (holotype VBGI!, isotypes MW!, JNU!) .

Description.

Plants in loose mats, more or less rigid, strongly distichous, brownish green to deep green, brownish greenish and yellowish brownish, also brown with rusty tint to brown purple, 500.0-1100.0 μm wide and 10.0-25.0 mm long. Rhizoids absent or very few, but common in geotropic stolons, colorless to grayish, obliquely to erect spreading. Stem rarely produces normal ventral branches, whereas commonly with ventral geotropic leafless stolons, almost always with 1-2 subfloral ventral or lateral innovations near gynoecia; stem cross section nearly rounded to slightly transversely elliptic, differentiated into strata, with outer layer cells 10.0-13.0 μm along margin, unequally thickened, but with thin and easily destroying external side, with moderate to small concave trigones; scleroderm well developed, in 2-3 layers, walls very thick, sometimes with visible median lamina, 7.0-10.0 μm in diameter, but with lumen only 3.0-6.0 μm in diameter, trigones moderate to large, concave; inner cells irregular in shape, 10.0-15.0 μm in diameter, walls thickened, trigones moderate, concave. Leaves distichously arranged, transversely to subtransversely inserted, obliquely spreading and subtransversely oriented, margins narrowly recurved in the both (dorsal and ventral) sides, narrowly canaliculate (looks conduplicate) with ‘keel’ slightly arched or nearly straight (in poorly developed phases), divided by gamma-shaped sinus into two strongly unequal gibbous lobes, lobe apices acute to obtuse. Cells in the midleaf mostly oblong, rarer subisodiametric, 7.0-20.0 × 7.0-13.0 μm, walls thickened, trigones large, triangle to convex, cuticle smooth, cells along lobe margin 5.0-10.0 μm, with unequally thickened walls, trigones small to moderate in size, concave, cuticle smooth; cells in the lobe middle 7.0-15.0 × 7.0-12.0 μm, with walls thickened to thin, trigones large and convex, sometimes confluent; oil-bodies (1-)2(-3) per midleaf cell, not biconcentric, spherical to oblong, ca. 5.0-7.5 × 5.0 μm. Dioicous. Androecia intercalary, with 2-3 pairs of bracts (but adjacent 1-2 pairs of ‘sterile’ leaves are similar with bracts that gives the impression of long androecia), spicate, bracts cupped to spoon-shaped, with recurved margin, suborbicular and lacerate when flattened in the slide, divided by γ -shaped sinus into two almost equal gibbous lobes, 750.0-875.0 × 825.0-1050.0 μm, 2-3-androus, antheridium stalk biseriate, 100.0-200.0 μm long, body nearly spherical ca. 100.0-120.0 μm in diameter. Perianth hidden within bracts or shortly exerted, onion-shaped, ca. 250.0 × 600.0 μm; perigynium well developed, 600.0-800.0 μm long (when archegonia fertilized), with two pairs of bracts, bracts sheathing perianth, with lobes incurved to perianth or very narrowly spreading. Elaters entirely bispiral, ca. 200.0 × 7.0-8.0 μm, with narrowed (sometimes even homogenous as in ' Plectocolea - type’) ends. Spores brown, papillose, spherical, 10.0-11.0 μm in diameter.

Ecology.

Acidophilic to neutro-tolerant meso- to hygrophyte. The ecology of this species is somewhat similar to that of M. pseudofunckii . It occupies mesic, rarely moist, or dry substrates in open to partly shaded areas. Among the common associates in drier habitats, Sphenolobus minutus , in open subalpine stations, it sometimes grows together with Gymnomitrion parvitextum . In wetter habitats M. koreana may grow with Marsupella tubulosa and Cephalozia otaruensis .

Distribution.

Montane temperate species, known from only the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, but probably spreading northward. In Korea, Jeju-do, Chungchengnam-do, Gyeongsangnam-do, Jeollabuk-do and Jeollanam-do ( Bakalin et al. 2019).

Specimens examined.

Chungcheonnam-do: Mt. Daedun , 36°08'02.9"N, 127°18'29.1"E, 343 m, 31 Mar 2009, S.S. Choi 3407 (JNU); Gyeongsangnam-do: Mt. Gaya , 35°49'14.8"N, 128°07'27.5"E, 1313 m, 8 Sep 2009, S.S. Choi (JNU), Mt. Gaya , 35°47'30.1"N, 128°05'46.3"E, 521 m, 28 Apr 2009, S.S. Choi 3511 (JNU), Mt. Gaya , 35°49'30.7"N, 128°07'07.9"E, 1350 m, 22 Jun 2010, S.S. Choi 7402 (JNU), Mt. Jiri , 35°18'51.9"N, 127°44'22.1"E, 848 m, 13 Jun 2009, S.S. Choi 3628 (JNU), Mt. Jiri , 35°19'20.6"N, 127°44'59.4"E, 1134 m, 14 Jun 2009, S.S. Choi 3686 (JNU), Mt. Namdeogyu , 31 May 2008, S.S. Choi site 1-2 (JNU), Mt. Namdeogyu , 35°45'53.5"N, 127°40'55.5"E, 1422 m, 11 Nov 2010, S.S. Choi 8950 (JNU), Jeju-do: Mt. Halla , S.S. Choi 111147 (JNU); Jeollabuk-do: Mt. Deogyu , 22 May 2008, S.S. Choi 509 (JNU), Mt. Jeoksang , 35°57'24.3"N, 127°41'86.3"E, 724 m, 18 Mar 2009, S.S. Choi 3417 (JNU), Mt. Jiri , 35°19'25.0"N, 127°41'36.8"E, 1300 m, 7 Oct 2009, S.S. Choi 1005-1 (JNU), Mt. Jiri , 35°19'06.1"N, 127°31'47.5"E, 781 m, 20 Jun 2009, S.S. Choi 4000 (JNU); Jeollanam-do: Mt. Dureun, 5 Feb 2009, S.S. Choi 3058 (JNU), Mt. Jiri, 35°17'44.0"N, 127°31'59.0"E, 1421 m, 29 Apr 2009, S.S. Choi 3527 (JNU) .

Comments.

This distinctive species is one of the most common Korean Marsupella members, completely misidentified with a couple of other taxa (most frequently with M. yakushimensis , M. apertifolia , M. pseudofunckii and M. tubulosa ). It belongs to the peculiar group of East Asian Marsupella taxa with ‘scapanioid’ appearance. Tentatively, we suggest that M. koreana occurs in mainland China (we were unable to check whether specimens identified as M. pseudofunckii from China ( Gao and Wu 2007) are in fact M. koreana ), as well as in Japan. We were unable to find this taxon in areas adjacent to the Korean Peninsula northward, in the Primorsky Territory of Russia. The main distinctions between the mentioned morphologically related taxa are presented in Table 1 . Marsupella koreana is most morphologically similar to M. patens (N. Kitag.) Bakalin et Fedosov (the taxon not present in Korea proper and probably limited to the Japanese Archipelago) and M. pseudofunckii . The main distinctions of the former are in recurved leaf margins that are always flat or undulate in M. patens as well as in acute to obtuse (but in any way angular) lobe end, versus rounded in M. patens . The distinctions from M. pseudofunckii are the presence of narrowly recurved leaf margins in M. koreana , shoots not or slightly dilated to the perianth (versus distinctly dilated in M. pseudofunckii ) and narrowly canaliculate, but not keeled-conduplicate (as in M. pseudofunckii ) leaves.

Figures

Figure 3. Marsupella koreana Bakalin et Fedosov A stem crops section (fragment) B male plant habit C female plant habit D gynoecium longitudinal section E shoot (fragment) F, G elaters H-J leaves K midleaf cells L cells along leaf margin. Scale bars: a 100 µm (A, F, G, K, L); b 1 mm (B, C); c 1 mm (D, E, H-J). All from Choi 3511 (JNU).