Drepanocladus polygamus (Schimp.) Hedenäs

Authority

Hedenäs, Lars. 2003. Amblystegiaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 89: 1--107. (Published by NYBG Press)

Family

Campyliaceae

Scientific Name

Drepanocladus polygamus (Schimp.) Hedenäs

Type

Type. Germany. Rheinland-Pfalz: meadows of Kirkel, Apr 1843, com. Holzner s.n. (lectotype, BM, designated by Hedenäs, 1997a).

Synonyms

Campylium polygamum var. latifolium Herzog, Campylium polygamum var. fluitans Grout, Amblystegium polygamum Schimp., Campylium polygamum (Schimp.) C.E.O.Jensen, Campyliadelphus polygamus (Schimp.) Kanda

Description

Species Description - Plants medium-sized to large; green, yellow green, or green brown. Stem irregularly and sparsely to ± pinnately branched; pseudoparaphyllia broad; axillary hairs with l-2(-3)-celled upper part, this hyaline when young. Stem leaves erect-patent to spreading with leaf base sometimes slightly more erect than rest of leaf, sometimes some leaves straight or even falcate (gradually curved), ovate or broadly ovate or rounded-triangular, narrowing ± gradually to apex, not plicate, concave; acumen furrowed, the apex acuminate; margin entire or slightly sinuose; costa single or branched and ending 40-65% of way up leaf, or double and ending 30-50% way up; median laminal cells (17.0-)23.0-149.0 × 5.0-14.0(-17.0) µm, unistratose, thin-walled and eporose to incrassate and ± porose, ratio "median leaf laminal cell length (µm)/leaf length (mm)" 25.3-33.3; alar cells inflated, hyaline; alar groups transverse-triangular, extending from margin (50-)65% to full distance to costa. Autoicous. Inner perichaetial leaves narrowing abruptly to acuminate apex. Exostome out-side cross-striolate in lower part. [Sporophytes not known from neotropical material.]

Discussion

Drepanocladus polygamus was reported from Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, and Bolivia by Bourell (1992), Churchill & Linares (1995), Delgadillo et al. (1995), and Sharp et al. (1994). The specimen reported from Mexico by Bourell (1992) and Sharp et al. (1994) belongs to Amblystegium radicale, and that reported from Colombia by Churchill & Linares (1995) belongs to D. aduncus. I have not see any Venezuelan material of D. polygamus. Some specimens of Drepanocladus polygamus are very similar to D. aduncus. Both have roughly the same leaf shape and the same kind of transverse-triangular alar groups. However, D. polygamus is autoicous whereas D. aduncus is dioicous; the costa is frequently double in at least some leaves in the former species, never in the latter; and at least some of the shoots in D. polygamus are similar to those of species of Campylium s.str., with ± spreading leaves and a furrowed acumen. In D. aduncus the leaf acumen is ± flat in straight-leafed specimens, which are the ones likely to be confused with D. polygamus, and the leaves are not spreading in a Campylium-like fashion. Drepanocladus polygamus could also be confused with Campylium stellatum, and the differences between these two species are found in Table II.

Distribution and Ecology: Dominican Republic (2500 m a.s.l.), Ecuador (3830-3920 m), Peru (3400-4100 m), and Bolivia (4200-4500 m). Also found in the Atacama province of northern Chile (Santesson Ml28, S), Paraguay (Kuc P-2, NY), Uruguay (Montevideo, Arechavaleta 250, NY), southernmost S America, and Antarctica. Widespread in arctic to temperate parts of N America and Eurasia; rare in some subtropical areas of S Asia and N, S, and tropical Africa; also present in Australia and New Zealand. In ± mineral- and nutrient-rich wetlands, such as eutrophic fens and marshes; on shores, or occasionally submerged in pools and lakes; sometimes in swampy forests.

Distribution

Dominican Republic South America| La Vega Dominican Republic South America| Ecuador South America| Cotopaxi Ecuador South America| Peru South America| Ayacucho Peru South America| San Martín Peru South America| Bolivia South America| La Paz Bolivia South America|