Ceramanus E.D. Cooper, 2013

Cooper, Endymion D., Söderström, Lars, Hagborg, Anders & Konrat, Matt Von, 2013, Notes on Early Land Plants Today. 38. New combinations and synonyms in Lepidoziaceae (Marchantiophyta), Phytotaxa 97 (2), pp. 52-62 : 53-54

Ceramanus E.D. Cooper , gen. nov.

Description:—Plants soft textured 1, flexuous, prostrate in loose to dense mats; usually complanate 2, glaucous to strongly ceraceous, whitish green to bluish green or pale green to yellowish green, dull and water repellent. Plants medium to large, to ca. 1 cm wide including branches 3. Branching loosely, regularly, l(2)-pinnate, the branches predominantly of Frullania - type, often elongating and becoming leading shoots or becoming flagelliform. Acromastigum - type branches rarely present 4. Ventral-intercalary branches present, leafy or stoloniform. Lateral-intercalary branches absent. Stems radially symmetrical to slightly smaller ventrally 5 with cortical cells moderately to distinctly differentiated, typically in 12-14 rows 6 of larger, thinner walled cells. Medullary cells in stem cross section numerous (ca. 25-90). Leaves on main shoot usually rigid and fragile. Lobes and lobe tips often caducous. Leaves strongly incubously to almost longitudinally inserted, horizontally oriented (in the same plane as the stem) at right angles to the stem, typically contiguous to loosely imbricate, becoming tightly shingled in dry or exposed conditions. Leaves small (ca. 200 m wide, 400 µm long) to large (ca. 1600 µm wide, 1600 µm long) sub-symmetric, to moderately asymmetric 7, 4-lobed rarely 5,6-lobed in larger species usually divided to 0.3-0.5. Lobes parallel with disc margins, to slightly divergent or weakly convergent in some species 8. Lobes caudate-setaceous 9, 2-4 cells broad at the very base 10 tapering to, or abruptly terminated by, a uniseriate row of 2-8 cells. Cells of the uniseriate row short to markedly elongated. Septa constricted, straight or slightly swollen. Disc usually symmetrically quadrate to rectangular, occasionally weakly cuneate 11 or with a gently curved and weakly subcordate dorsal margin 12, typically 5-8 cells high 13 and 8 cells broad throughout 14. Cells of disc typically in longitudinal rows and obvious tiers 15, near isodiametric to short rectangular, large, ca. 25-60 µm wide and 35-100 µm long. The basal row of cells weakly to distinctly larger than median disc cells. Branch leaves resembling those of the main shoots, smaller than stem leaves, often with three rather than four lobes, typically more tightly shingled and less deeply lobed. Underleaves highly reduced with respect to lateral leaves 16. Disc abbreviated to as few as 1 tier of cells. Lobes usually uniseriate throughout, short to somewhat elongated and terminated by an apical slime papilla. Rhizoids from the distal cells of the underleaf disc. Frullania - type branch half-leaf bifid (very occasionally trifid), linear, obliquely inserted and bisecting the angle between the branch and main axis 17. First branch underleaf undivided, rarely bi- or tri-lobed in some species, ciliate to subulate, inserted on stem, at branch base or at junction. Oil-bodies always present in living material, translucent, grayish, botryoidal, typically 4 or more per cell. Asexual reproduction present in most species, commonly by fragmenting leaf lobes, rarely by tubers terminating stoloniferous branches. Plants dioicous. Androecia either on short Frullania-type branches with a few to several cycles of normal vegetative leaves prior to androecial formation, or on short, abbreviated, ventral-intercalary branches lacking normal vegetative leaves. Bracts rather closely imbricate, strongly dorsally assurgent, and deeply concave; 2,3,4-lobed with each lobe terminating in a uniseriate row of (2)3 cells; lamina margins with a few slime papillae. Bracts monandrous with large antheridia for bract size, the stalk 6-8 cells high, biseriate. Bracteolar antheridia absent. Gynoecia feebly to strongly dorsally assurgent, weakly swollen and sparsely to densely rhizoidous at base. Bracts small for perianth size, those of innermost series usually closely ensheathing the perianth, occasionally erect. Bract apices ciliate to lobulate, margins with few to several slime papillae. Bracteoles of innermost series smaller than or similar in size to bracts, similar to identical in form. Perianth emergent, cylindrical to fusiform, terete in basal sector, the distal sector trigonous, with 3 to 8 distinct plicae, narrowing toward the contracted mouth. Mouth shortly denticulate, ciliate to lobulate. Perianth 2-5 stratose at the base, 1-2 stratose in the median portion and 1 stratose apically. Sporophyte with seta having 5-8 rows of outer cells and approx. 10-20 rows of inner cells. Capsule short elliptic with wall of 3 layers. Outer layer of cells in tiers, regularly short-rectangular, with 2-phase development. The longitudinal walls with well-defined sheet-like and nodular thickenings alternating with walls that are devoid of thickenings (or with

1. Except C. grossiseta which is firm textured.

2. Except C. grossiseta which is subisophyllous.

3. C. elegans and C. pruinosus are smaller.

4. Known in C. grossiseta and C. clatritexta .

5. Distinctly so and somewhat dorso-ventrally flattened in C. perfragilis .

6. But as few as 9 rows in C. perfragilis up to 26 rows in C. clatritexta .

7. Asymmetry more pronounced in species with larger leaves C. clatritexta and C. grossiseta .

8. Exceptional in C. grossiseta are the dorsal-most lobes which are strongly, often perpendicularly, divergent and oriented towards the shoot apex. 9. Unusually, attenuate in C. clatritexta .

10. Up to 7 cells broad in C. clatritexta .

11. In C. centipes and C. grossiseta .

12. In C. clatritexta .

13. As few as 2-3 in C. pruinosus and up to 14 in C clatritexta .

14. Broader, to ca. 20 cells broad distally, in C. grossiseta and C. clatritexta .

15. Tiers of cells becoming indistinct in larger leaves of C. clatritexta .

16. C. grossiseta exceptional in having large underleaves, smaller than, but resembling the lateral leaves.

17. Halfleaf narrowly rectangular to elliptic in C. clatritexta . Halfleaf lobes divergent in C. grossiseta .

sporadic, local, nonpigmented to pigmented, nodular swellings). The transverse walls devoid of thickenings, or rarely with a few nodular swellings. Innermost layer of cells tiered, irregularly narrowly rectangular, with semiannular bands common. Spores areolate. Elaters rigid, nontortuous only slightly tapering toward tips; bispiral to tips.

Type:— Ceramanus centipes (Taylor ex Gottsche, Lindenb. et Nees) E.D.Cooper.

Etymology:—From the Latin cera meaning wax and manus meaning hand. The name refers to the hand-like appearance of the typically glaucous leaves of species belonging to the genus.