Syrrhopodon helicophyllus Mitt.

  • Authority

    Reese, William D. 1993. Calymperaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 58: 1-102. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Calymperaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Syrrhopodon helicophyllus Mitt.

  • Type

    Type. Brazil. Rio Negro, Spruce 8 (lectotype, here designated, NY; isolectotypes, BM, BR). Panuré, Spruce s.n. (syntype, NY).

  • Description

    Species Description - Plants robust, glossy above, wiry, in tangled mats; rhizoids dark-red; stems to ca. 3 cm tall, often repent and rhizome-like, sometimes matted with rhizoids. Leaves Unear to tapering, 3-4 mm long, upper lamina often helically coiled when dry; margins entire all around, bordered all around with thick band of elongate hyaline cells; cancellinae persistent, very distinct; median leaf cells thick-walled, porose, pellucid, square to rectangular, mostly 12 x 36 µm, smooth and flat dorsally, slightly bulging ventrally; gemmae filamentous, septate, to ca. 160 µm long, dorsal and ventral along costa on old, brown, lower leaves. Seta red, 4 mm long; capsule 1.5 mm long; peristome ca. 145 pm tall, fairly well developed, teeth slender, articulate, vertically striate on outer surface; operculum 1.4 mm long. Spores 17 pm, granular. Calyptra 2-2.2 mm long.

  • Discussion

    This very distinctive moss is characterized by its large, smooth, porose leaf cells and its often heUcally coiled leaves. Its gemmae are almost identical to those of S. parasiticus and S. flexifolius, but are borne in a very different way, on both surfaces of the leaf.

  • Distribution

    A rare endemic of northern South America. Colombia (Amazonas, Vaupés); Venezuela (Amazonas, Bolívar); Brazil (Amazonas). In dense, springy mats on tree trunks, rarely on soil, at elevations to ca. 200 m.

    Colombia South America| Amazonas Colombia South America| Vaupés Colombia South America| Venezuela South America| Amazonas Venezuela South America| Bolívar Venezuela South America| Brazil South America| Amazonas Brazil South America|