Calyptothecium duplicatum (Schwägr.) Broth.

Authority

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

Family

Pterobryaceae

Scientific Name

Calyptothecium duplicatum (Schwägr.) Broth.

Description

Species Description - Plants robust, to ca. 45 cm long, but often only 5-7 cm, in green to golden, thin to dense, epiphytic colonies. Primary stems creeping, filiform, with small, reduced leaves, turning ca. 90° and becoming the upright secondary stem (stipe), the creeping stem continuing by a bud from near the base of the stipe, secondary stems erect to pendent, irregularly but freely pinnately branched, the branches mostly simple, rarely becoming flagellate, complanate-foliate; in cross-section with 4-7 rows of small thick-walled reddish cells surrounding larger firm-walled paler cells, central strand none; paraphyllia none; pseudoparaphyllia filamentous, numerous; axillary hairs with a single short brown basal cell and 3 elongate hyaline finely roughened distal cells. Primary stem leaves appressed, pale, broadly triangular-ovate, 0.57-0.83 mm long, abruptly short-acuminate; margins subentire, plane; costa none; cells linear, smooth, firm-walled, porose, becoming subquadrate and golden in 2-4 rows across the insertion. Secondary stem leaves spreading, strongly to somewhat complanate, oblong-ovate, ca. 3.4 mm long, gradually acute, rugose, deeply concave to weakly conduplicate, the apex usually plane, cordate-auriculate; margins entire throughout or with a few small teeth at extreme apex, plane; costa single, slender, ending ca. 1/2 the leaf length; cells linear to linear-flexuose, smooth, thin- to firm-walled, porose throughout, becoming shorter and rhomboidal to hexagonal in the extreme apex; alar cells rhombic to short-rectangular in 2-4 rows across the insertion, golden to reddish. Branch leaves imbricate, little altered when dry, strongly to obscurely complanate, sometimes ± tumid, spreading, oblong-ovate to oblong-lanceolate, 2.1-2.6 mm long, abruptly acute to short-acuminate, rugose, deeply concave to weakly conduplicate, the apex usually plane, weakly cordate-auriculate; margins subentire to serrulate above, entire below, plane; costa single, slender, ending near midleaf; cells linear to linear-flexuose, smooth, firm-walled, porose, not particularly shorter above; alar cells subquadrate in 2-4 rows across the concolorous to golden insertion. Asexual propagula of gemmae frequent, in conspicuous clusters in leaf axils, uniseriate, (3-)9-15-celled, smooth, the germination filament coarsely papillose. Dioicous. [Only a single fertile collection seen, and that from Ecuador, Spruce 1324, NY.] Perichaetia conspicuous, on stems and bases of branches; leaves erect, convolute, oblong-lanceolate, 4.3-5.7 mm long, gradually long-acuminate; margins entire except for a few small teeth at the extreme apex, plane; costa single, slender, ending near midleaf; cells linear, smooth, firm-walled, porose. Setae short, smooth, ca. 0.85 mm long; capsules completely immersed, erect and symmetric, short-cylindric, ca. 2 mm long; exothecial cells short-rectangular, firm-walled, becoming oblate at the mouth; annulus not differentiated; operculum not seen; peristome inserted slightly below the mouth, yellow, exostome teeth often irregular, perforate, smooth to finely roughened, often with a well-developed prostome; endostome not seen. Spores spherical, faintly papillose, ca. 21 µm diam. Calyptrae not seen.

Discussion

1. Calyptothecium duplicatum (Schwãgr.) Broth, in Engl. & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. 1(3): 839. 1906; Hypnum duplicatum Schwägr., Sp. Musc. Frond. Suppl. 1(2): 198. 1816 (modified in 3(2): 279a. 1830); Fissidens dominicensis Brid., Bryol. Univ. 2: 707. 1827, nom. illeg.; Schistophyllum dominicense Brid., Bryol. Univ. 2: 707. 1827, nom. illeg. in sync, Pterobry on duplicatum (Schwägr.) Mitt., J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 12: 427. 1869; Neckera duplicata (Schwagr.) A. Jaeger, Ber. Thätigk. St. Gallischen Naturwiss. Ges. 1875-76: 279. 1877. Plate 57, figures 1-8 Neckera moritzii Hampe, Linnaea 20: 91. 1847; Calyptothecium moritzii (Hampe) Broth, in Engl. & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. 1(3): 839. 1906. Neckera porodictyon Renauld & Cardot, Bull. Soc. Roy. Bot. Belgique 29(1): 180. 1890; Calyptothecium porodictyon (Renauld & Cardot) Broth, in Engl. & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. 1(3): 839. 1906. Calyptothecium turgescens Broth. & Thér. in Thér., Recueil Publ. Soc. Havraise Études Diverses 88: 312. 1921. Calyptothecium duplication var. integerrimum Herzog, Biblioth. Bot. 87: 115. 1916. Discussion. Calyptothecium duplication is distinguished by its pinnately branched, complanately foliate secondary stems that are stiffly pendent from tree trunks and rocks. The costa is single, the leaf cells are linear, firm-walled and porose, and the alar cells are weakly differentiated in 2-4 rows across the insertion. The branch leaves are weakly auriculate, the stem leaves more strikingly so. There is possible confusion with Neckera urnigera but that species is more slender and the leaves have a short, double costa. Also, Neckera is almost always fertile and has exserted capsules. Our material is very similar to the African C. acutifolium (Brid.) Broth., and from the African material I have seen I suspect synonymy. However, I have not seen the Bridel type. The Asian-Pacific C. urvilleanum (Mull. Hal.) Broth, is also similar, but material from Tahiti (the type locality) seems more distinctly rugose-undulate and more strongly auriculate. It would not be surprising, though, to find that it also falls within the variation of C. duplicatum. Schwagrichen’s (1816) original description is very poor and misleading. He cited a single specimen, “ins. Dominica,’’ and described it as unbranched and ecostate. However, study of the type at Geneva has verified it as the species treated here. The specimen probably came from the Dominican Republic. Also, the specimen is immature and indeed unbranched. It is, though, costate. Schwãgrichen (1830), in a later publication, modified his description to accept branched stems and costate leaves. At this time he cited two additional specimens, one from Tahiti collected by Menzies and one from South Africa ex hb. Vahl. These specimens have been influential in my discussion above about extralimital synonymy. The 1830 Schwägrichen illustration is based on the Tahitian collection.

Distribution

Range. Mexico throughout Central America, Colombia and Venezuela to Peru and Bolivia, Brazil, Trinidad; Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic); growing on tree trunks or rocks (limestone), in humid forests, at (400-)700-1600(-2000) m.

Mexico North America| Central America| Colombia South America| Venezuela South America| Ecuador South America| Peru South America| Bolivia South America| Brazil South America| Trinidad and Tobago South America| Cuba South America| Jamaica South America| Haiti South America| Dominican Republic South America|