Lepidopilum longifolium Hampe

Authority

Buck, William R. 1998. Pleurocarpous mosses of the West Indies. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 82: 1-400.

Family

Pilotrichaceae

Scientific Name

Lepidopilum longifolium Hampe

Description

Species Description - Plants medium-sized, in lustrous, yellow-green to golden tufts. Primary stems creeping, short, with erect, mostly simple, densely foliate branches, to ca. 2 cm long, not or scarcely complanate-foliate; in cross-section with a unistratose hyalodermis over 1-2 (-3) rows of medium-sized thick-walled cells surrounding large thin-walled cells, central strand none; axillary hairs 2-celled, with a short brown basal cell and an elongate hyaline distal cell. Leaves scarcely altered when dry, lateral and dorsal leaves not greatly differentiated, oblong to oblong-lanceolate to narrowly oblong-ovate, 2.2-2.8 mm long, gradually or occasionally ± abruptly acuminate, rarely hairpointed, ± symmetric, not or only shortly rounded at the insertion; margins not or only obscurely and incompletely bordered by 1 (-2) rows of elongate cells, entire throughout or more typically serrulate above, typically narrowly recurved almost throughout, sometimes plane; costa double, ending 1/4-1/3(-1/2) the leaf length, unequal, usually slender; cells long-hexagonal to linear, somewhat shorter above, 5-7:1, firm-walled, becoming short-rectangular and colored across the insertion in l-2(-3) rows; alar cells not differentiated. Asexual propagula in leaf axils of some plants, 10-12-celled, uniseriate, to ca. 0.6 mm long, chlorophyllose. Autoicous. Perichaetia small, inconspicuous, in leaf axils of primary branches; leaves few, pale, erect, sheathing, narrowly triangular, 1.4-1.7 mm long, gradually acuminate; margins not or obscurely bordered, entire or rarely subserrulate, plane or occasionally narrowly reflexed; costa none; cells linear above, gradually becoming shorter and broader toward insertion. Setae short to elongate, strongly hispid throughout, reddish, 2-17 mm long, erect; capsules erect, cylindric, yellowish with a reddish band around mouth, 1-2.5 mm long; exothecial cells subquadrate to rectangular, firm-walled, the vertical walls thicker, collenchymatous; annulus of a single row of subquadrate, thin-walled cells, falling with the operculum; operculum conic-rostrate; exostome teeth recurved when dry, strongly bordered, densely and finely papillose throughout, on the front surface pale, reddish and trabeculate at back; endostome yellowish, densely and finely papillose throughout, with a low basal membrane, segments erect, slightly keeled, not perforate, cilia none. Spores spherical, finely roughened, 12-18 µm diam. Calyptrae mitrate, covering the operculum and ca. 1/2 of urn, not plicate, deeply and irregularly lobed, ornamented with hyaline or yellowish, multiseriate ramenta, smooth.

Discussion

Lepidopilum robustum Mitt., J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 12: 386. 1869. Lepidopilum aureofulvum Müll. Hal., Linnaea 42: 495. 1879. Lepidopilum cladorrhizans Besch., J. Bot. (Morot) 8: 63. 1894. Discussion. Lepidopilum longifolium is characterized by densely foliate branches with oblong leaves with typically recurved margins and gradually tapering apices. The setae are strongly hispid throughout. It most closely resembles the Lesser Antillean Actinodontium integrifolium, and indeed, sterile material is difficult to separate. However, A. integrifolium has a smooth seta. Additionally, its leaves usually are shorter with a less acuminate apex and somewhat stronger costa. Lepidopilum longifolium also may be confused with L amplirete, but the consistently plane leaf margins, the more abruptly tapered apex, and the shorter apical cells of the latter species will serve to distinguish them. Also, L. amplirete, which is dioicous rather than autoicous as in L. longifolium, has a seta somewhat roughened above and smooth below. Seta length in L. longifolium is extremely variable but does not appear to correlate well with other characters. The Colombian type and Hispaniolan material match well gametophytically. However, the Colombian material has setae consistently over 1 cm long whereas plants from Hispaniola typically have setae 2-3 mm long. Observations on Lepidopilum, though, indicate that seta length is not a reliable taxonomic marker.

Distribution

Range. Northwestern South America; Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic), Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe; on tree trunks, in humid forests, at 500-1500 m.

Venezuela South America| Colombia South America| Ecuador South America| Brazil South America| Peru South America| Cuba South America| Jamaica South America| Haiti South America| Dominican Republic South America| Puerto Rico South America| Guadeloupe South America|