Chaetocolea palmata Spruce

  • Authority

    Fulford, Margaret H. 1963. Manual of the leafy Hepaticae of Latin America--Part I. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 11: 1-172.

  • Family

    Pseudolepicoleaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Chaetocolea palmata Spruce

  • Description

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    Species Description - Plants small, reddish-brown to dark brown, ascendent, in tufts or mats; stems slender to filiform, to 5 cm long, with leaves 0.4 mm or more wide, sparingly branched; branches ventral-intercalary, in the axils of the underleaves [sometimes lateral-Spruce], leafy; stems in transverse section six to nine cells in diameter, the cells more or less alike. Rhizoids colorless, from the lower part of the underleaves. Line of leaf insertion oblique, the leaves succubous. Leaves distant, to approximate on robust stems, more or less concave, cuneate, 0.8-0.9 mm long, 0.4 mm wide, the margins entire, quadrifid (sometimes three- to five-parted) to the middle ; segments subulate to narrowly triangular, two to six cells broad at the base, tapering to the uniseriate tip of four to six cells; cells of the lamina large, 24-36 X 20-24 µ, thin-walled, the trigones conspicuous, cells of the segments 36-40 µ, the cuticle striolate. Underleaves smaller, of similar form. Male inflorescence terminal on the stem, becoming intercalary, the bracts and bracteoles in four to six pairs, the bracts similar to the leaves, the lamina larger concave, the segments unchanged, the bracteoles like the underleaves; antheridia solitarv, in the axils of the bracts. Female inflorescence terminal on the stem [after Spruce; with one innovation, the bracts and bracteoles in several series larger than the leaves, the lateral margins ciliate the segments branched and ciliate, the innermost series adnate to the perianth, the ciliate segments free. Perianth emergent, cup-form, nearly hemispherical, the mouth large, fringed with many cilia]. Fig. 1, a-j.

  • Discussion

    The illustrations of the perianth which were made by Spruce from the original material suggest that the shoot/sporophyte relationship might be interpreted differently in the light of our present knowledge. Whether a perianth is actually formed can only be determined after material hearing young or older sporophytes is available.

  • Distribution

    Habitat: not stated.

    Ecuador South America| Peru South America|