Zelometeorium patulum (Hedw.) Manuel

  • Authority

    Buck, William R. 2003. Guide to the plants of central french Guiana. Part 3. Mosses. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 76: 1-167.

  • Family

    Meteoriaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Zelometeorium patulum (Hedw.) Manuel

  • Description

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    Species Description - Plants medium-sized but often in extensive, green to golden, pendent festoons; stems to ca. 30 cm long, the branches mostly less than 1 cm long, rarely the branch apices becoming flagellate. Stem leaves erect to erect-spreading from a clasping base, narrowly to broadly ovate, abruptly acuminate, the acumen flexuose and often piliferous, broadly auriculate, the auricles about 30-40% of the leaf base (excluding the acumen), ca. 2 x 1 mm; margins subentire to serrulate throughout, plane throughout; costa ending near midleaf, sometimes barely above the auricles or rarely almost to base of the acumen; cells linear, 50-80 x 2-4 pm, with thickened endwalls but otherwise thin- to firm-walled, usually not or scarcely porose but becoming obviously so toward the insertion; alar cells scarcely differentiated to fairly obvious in small, excavate groups, subquadrate to short-rectangular, firm- to thick-walled, somewhat porose. Branch leaves densely disposed, wide-spreading to squarrose-recurved, sometimes somewhat contorted when dry, mostly ovate, short- to long-acuminate, sometimes piliferous, the base mostly cordate, slightly clasping, 0.85-2.2 x 0.5-0.8 mm (the longer ones more acuminate); margins subentire, denticulate or serrulate throughout, plane throughout or narrowly recurved near insertion; costa ending near midleaf or to about 3/4 the leaf length (excluding the acumen) and then often projecting as a small prickle; cells fusiform to linear- flexuose, 50-70 x 2-4 pm, firm-walled, sometimes ± porose, becoming rectangular and porose toward the insertion; alar cells indistinct to obvious in small, well marked groups, subquadrate, firm- to thick-walled, sometimes slightly porose. Asexual propagula rarely present, of flagellate branches. Setae ca. 3.0 mm long, straight or curved; capsules short-exserted, 2-4 mm long.

  • Distribution

    In non-flooded moist forest, somewhat common, 200-500 m, mostly on twigs, often in the canopy.

    French Guiana South America|