Ephemerum serratum (Hedw.) Hampe, 1837

Alegro, Antun, Šegota, Vedran, Rimac, Anja, Kiebacher, Thomas, Prlić, Dragan, Sedlar, Zorana, Vuković, Nina & Papp, Beata, 2019, New and noteworthy bryophyte records from Croatia, Cryptogamie, Bryologie 20 (2), pp. 5-13 : 9

Ephemerum serratum (Hedw.) Hampe

SPECIMEN EXAMINED. — Croatia. Istrian Peninsula, Gornji Kamenjak, bare soil within macchia, 44°48’42”N, 13°52’45”E, 22 m a.s.l., 1.I.2016, leg. and det. N. Vuković, V. Šegota & A. Alegro s.n., ZA(ZA45491); Island of Molat, Zapuntelsko Polje, shallow depression, 44°14’59”N, 14°48’28”E, 28 m a.s.l., 25.X.2015, leg. and det.A. Alegro, V. Šegota, N. Vuković & Z. Sedlar s.n. ZA(ZA47327); Ibidem, 8.XII.2015, leg. Z. Sedlar s.n., det. V. Šegota & A. Alegro, ZA(ZA45490).

At Istrian Peninsula the species occurred on patches of bare soil, on an earthy pathway. The site was located in the zone of Mediterranean macchia vegetation, and the species was found along with other ephemerals: Fossombronia caespitiformis De Not. ex Rabenh. subsp. caespitiformis , Oxymitra incrassata (Brot.) Sérgio & Sim-Sim , Riccia michelii Raddi , R. nigrella DC. and Southbya nigrella (De Not.) Henriq. As a side note, our collected specimens had distinct untoothed leaves, thus resembling Ephemerum stellatum H. Philib. (cf. Frahm & Frey 2004; Smith 2004; Frey et al. 2006; Infante et al. 2010), which was synonymized with E. serratum ( Holyoak 2010) . On the island of Molat the species was found along with a rare, ephemeral vascular plant Corrigiola litoralis L.( Vuković et al. 2018), on the bare soil in a seasonally inundated area characterized by damp, shallow depressions and channels. Noteworthily, these habitats are known as “Mediterranean temporary ponds”, and are very significant in the context of conservation of rare and endangered vascular plant species ( Zacharias et al. 2007). They are facing a rapid decline worldwide ( Rhazi et al. 2012) and are therefore listed as a priority habitat in the Habitats Directive ( European Commission 2007). Specimens collected had finely papillose spores surrounded by hyaline membrane, thus resembling Ephemerum minutissimum Lindb. ( Risse 1996, 1997; Smith 2004; Frey et al. 2006). However, more recently, a new perspective on this group was provided by Ellis & Price (2015) who, as a consequence of nomenclature revision, have placed E. minutissimum Lindb. in synonymy with E. serratum . Ephemerum serratum is a Temperate element ( Smith 2004) distributed across Europe ( Hodgetts 2015). The species was previously reported in Croatia on the island of Rab ( Düll 1999) and in Vrhovinsko Polje ( Alegro et al. 2014). It is known from many SE European countries, e.g. Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia ( Sabovljević et al. 2008) and has recently been discovered in Albania ( Marka & Sabovljević 2011). The species is known also from neighbouring Hungary ( Papp et al. 2010b) and Italy ( Aleffi et al. 2008). It is EN in Romania ( Stefănuţ & Goia 2012) and VU in Serbia and Montenegro ( Sabovljević et al. 2004).