Oleolophozia L.Söderstr., De Roo & Hedd., 2010

Söderström, Lars, Roo, Ryan De & Hedderson, Terry, 2010, Taxonomic novelties resulting from recent reclassification of the Lophoziaceae / Scapaniaceae clade, Phytotaxa 3, pp. 47-53 : 50-51

Oleolophozia L.Söderstr., De Roo & Hedd. , gen. nov.

Lophoziae primo adspectu maxime simile, sed gemmis rubellis usque ad aurantiacis et guttis olei flavis, permanentis.

Type:— Oleolophozia perssonii (H.Buch & S.W.Arnell) L.Söderstr., De Roo & Hedd. , comb. nov.

Small, up to 5 mm long. Stem dorsiventrally differentiated into a ventral brownish and mycorrhizal, and a dorsal, hyaline region. Leaves bifid for 1/4-1/3. Lobes sharply pointed. Cells thin-walled with distinct trigones and 3-8(10) oil bodies per cell. Gemmae in reddish to orange masses, 2-celled with 1-2 large, yellowish, persistent oil-bodies. Dioicious.

Etymology:—The name refers to a Lophozia with the characteristic, persistent oil-bodies in the gemmae.

Note:—The genus is monotypic and the description of Lophozia perssonii in e.g. Damsholt (2002) can serve as a full description of the genus. The family placement is somewhat unclear but we retain it in Lophoziaceae for now.