Campylopus shawii Wilson
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Authority
Frahm, Jan-Peter. 1991. Dicranaceae: Campylopodioideae, Paraleucobryoideae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 54: 1-238. (Published by NYBG Press)
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Family
Dicranaceae
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Scientific Name
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Type
Type. Outer Hebrides. Shaw s.n. (holotype, BM).
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Synonyms
Campylopus brittonae R.S.Williams, Campylopus carreiroanus Cardot, Campylopus underwoodii R.S.Williams
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Description
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Species Description - Plants tall, to more than 10 cm high, in yellowish green, loose tufts. Stems equally foliate, tomentose below. Leaves 10-15 mm long, gradually narrowed into a long, fine, nearly smooth or slightly serrulate point, spreading or attached to the stem. Costa filling more than of the leaf base, excurrent, in transverse section with large ventral hyalocysts covering more than half of the transverse section and dorsal groups of stereids, smooth at back. Alar cells conspicuous, forming large auricles protruding into the costa, reddish inside and hyaline outside. Basal laminal cells incrassate, short rectangular, often slightly pitted, 5-10 × 50-65 µm, narrower and paler at margins. Upper laminal cells small, incrassate, oval to oblique, 3-6 × 19-26 µm. Seta to 15 mm long, arising from short pseudolateral branches, sinuose or curved, yellowish to light brown. Capsule 2.5-3 mm long, curved, strumose, nearly smooth or furrowed when emptied, olive to dark brown. Peristome dark red. Operculum shortly rostrate, half as long as the capsule. Calyptra ciliate at base.
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Discussion
The disjunction between the Caribbean Islands and the British Isles, connected by the occurrence on the Azores, seems to be remarkable. This distribution pattern is, however, met also in other bryophytes such as Cyclodictyon laetevirens (Hooker & Taylor) Mitten, Adelanthus decipiens (Hooker) Mitten, Leptoscyphus cuneifolius (Hooker) Mitten and others. In contrast to the Caribbean Island, Campylopus shawii grows in the British Isles in swamps. Generally, it may be possible that tropical montane bryophytes have been brought to Europe as packing material for tropical flowering plants for greenhouses and parks, from where they escaped and found an ecological niche in the natural vegetation. However, this possibility must be excluded for C. shawii, because in the British Isles there occurs a closely related species, C. setifolius Wilson, which is not found in the Caribbean. This species may have been derived from C. shawii by occupying a different habitat, such as wet rocks. The structural differences between the species therefore involve special adaptations to these different habitats, such as large ventral hyalocysts with lax cell walls in transverse section of the costa in C. shawii (occurring in swamps) for storing water, and small ventral hyalocysts with firm walls in C. setifolius (occurring on wet rocks) as protection against desiccation. Therefore, the occurrence of C. shawii in Western Europe may be interpreted as a relict, where this species has survived glaciation periods in unglaciated habitats along the west coast of Ireland and Scotland or regions now drowned by the postglacial rising sea level. Sporophytes have been found rarely in the Caribbean Islands but never in Europe.
Campylopus brittonae and C. underwoodii were both described by Williams from Jamaica in the same publication. According to Williams they differ in the length of the leaves, which seems insufficient to separate the taxa. Both species show absolutely no differences in leaf anatomy, but the type of C. underwoodii shows smaller plants, with leaves more or less appressed to the stem, whereas the type of C. brittonae has patent leaves. Therefore, C. underwoodii can only be regarded as a modification of C. brittonae. It is not known whether such "underwoodii-expressions" indicate a different habitat. This seems possible, for patent leaves in rain forest species of Campylopus may be interpreted as an adaptation to poor nutrients in the substrate and a nutrition predominantly from atmospheric sources, by sieving out organic particles falling down from the canopy. -
Distribution
On soil, rocks and rotten wood in pine cloud forests and broadleaf cloud forests between 1300 and 2700 m elevation in Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Hispaniola (Dominican Republic), also on the Azores and the highly oceanic parts of the British Isles.
Cuba South America| Dominican Republic South America| La Vega Dominican Republic South America| Peravia Dominican Republic South America| Jamaica South America| Saint Thomas Jamaica South America|