Fissidens polypodioides Hedw.

  • Authority

    Pursell, Ronald A. 2007. Fissidentaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 101 (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Fissidentaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Fissidens polypodioides Hedw.

  • Type

    Type. Jamaica, Swartz s.n. (lectotype, S, designated by Pursell, 1986a; isolectotype, H-SOL).

  • Synonyms

    Dicranum polypodioides (Hedw.) F.Weber & D.Mohr, Skitophyllum polypodioides (Hedw.) Bach.Pyl., Schistophyllum polypodioides (Hedw.) Brid., Fissidens oerstedianus Müll.Hal., Fissidens divisus Hampe, Fissidens pseudopolypodioides Müll.Hal.

  • Description

    Species Description - Plants light to dark green. Stems monomorphic, 110 mm [11 cm] long x 10 mm [1cm] wide, unbranched and branched from older parts; rhizoids basal, smooth, reddish; axillary hyaline nodules absent; epidermis and outer 1-2 tiers of cortical cells small, incrassate, pigmented; inner cortical cells larger, thin-walled, hyaline; central strand well developed. Leaves ± inrolled from tips, ± crispate when dry, imbricate, as many as 80 pairs, oblong, obtuse to broadly acute, usually bluntly mucronate, to 6 mm long x 1.5 mm wide; margin entire, denticulate distally, elimbate; costa distinct, ending 2-4 cells below leaf apex to percurrent, taxifolius type; dorsal lamina rounded, ending at insertion; vaginant laminae of cauline leaves ± 1/2 leaf length, acute, equal or nearly so, minor lamina ending on or bear margin; laminal cells distinct, eguttulate, unistratose, firm-walled, smooth, slightly bulging, irregularly hexagonal, 10-20 µm long, larger juxtacostally, smaller at margin. Dioicous; perigonia and perichaetia terminal on short axillary branches and main stems. Sporophytes 1-2 per perichaetium, reddish; seta smooth, to 11 mm [1.1 cm] long; theca exserted, ± inclined, ± arcuate, bilaterally symmetric, to 2.5 mm long, stomatose, exothecial cells quadrate to oblong, vertical walls thicker than horizontal walls; operculum conic, long-rostrate, to 1.5 mm long; peristome taxifolius type. Spores smooth or nearly so, 9-11 µm diam. Calyptra cucullate, smooth, 1.0-1.5 mm long. n = 6, 12 (as Fissidens areolatus, Fritsch, 1991).

  • Discussion

    A synonym from outside the area of this study (Pursell et al., 1992): Fissidens areolatus Griffith.

    Fissidens polypodioides, the largest and most handsome of the terrestrial species of Fissidens in the Neotropics, can be confused with F. asplenioides. However, the plants of F. polypodioides are usually larger, and the leaves, although somewhat crispate when dry, are usually less inrolled from the tips than those of F. asplenioides. The vaginant laminae of cauline leaves in F. polypodioides are equal or nearly so while the minor lamina of cauline leaves in F asplenioides is distally rounded and ends on or near the costa in most leaves. A transverse section of the costa in the proximal part of the leaf distinguishes the two species; Fissidens polypodioides has a taxi-folius type costa whereas F. asplenioides has an oblongifolia type costa Moreover, the marginal cells of the vaginant laminae in F. polypodioides differ little from the interior cells, whereas the median marginal cells of the vaginant laminae in F. asplenioides are elongate and oriented obliquely. Also, the outer walls of the laminal cells of F. polypodioides are evenly thickened, while those in F. asplenioides are lenticularly thickened. Overall, the laminal cells of F polypodioides are larger than those of F asplenioides.

    Fissidens polypodioides can also be confused with F. bourgaeanus, but in the former species the marginal cells are the same thickness as the other laminal cells while in the latter species the marginal cells are thicker, forming a dark marginal band. The leaf apex of F. polypodioides is denticulate, but that of F. bourgaeanus is usually irregularly serrate. Fissidens polypodioides and F adianthoides have similar laminal cells but the leaf apex of the latter species is acute and irregularly serrate.

    Distribution and Ecology: Mexico (Chiapas, Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz); Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama); West Indies (Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Puerto Rico); South America (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela); on moist shaded soil, rocks, boulders, dripping cliff faces, and rotting wood along streams; 600-3200 m. The species is also found in the southeastern United States (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Louisiana, Texas), and Asia.

  • Distribution

    Meta Colombia South America| Magdalena Colombia South America| Ocotepeque Honduras Central America| Granada Nicaragua Central America| Barbados South America| Chiapas Mexico North America| Hidalgo Mexico North America| Oaxaca Mexico North America| Puebla Mexico North America| Veracruz Mexico North America| Alta Verapaz Guatemala Central America| Baja Verapaz Guatemala Central America| Chiquimula Guatemala Central America| Huehuetenango Guatemala Central America| San Marcos Guatemala Central America| Zacapa Guatemala Central America| Cayo Belize Central America| Toledo Belize Central America| Atlántida Honduras Central America| Comayagua Honduras Central America| Cortés Honduras Central America| Francisco Morazán Honduras Central America| La Paz Honduras Central America| Lempira Honduras Central America| Olancho Honduras Central America| Santa Bárbara Honduras Central America| Rivas Nicaragua Central America| Alajuela Costa Rica Central America| Cartago Costa Rica Central America| Heredia Costa Rica Central America| Limón Costa Rica Central America| Puntarenas Costa Rica Central America| San José Costa Rica Central America| Bocas del Toro Panamá Central America| Chiriquí Panamá Central America| Coclé Panamá Central America| Darién Panamá Central America| Veraguas Panama Central America| Santiago de Cuba Cuba South America| Sud Haiti South America| La Vega Dominican Republic South America| Pedernales Dominican Republic South America| Puerto Rico South America| Dominica South America| Antioquia Colombia South America| Boyacá Colombia South America| Casanare Colombia South America| Cauca Colombia South America| Cundinamarca Colombia South America| Nariño Colombia South America| Putumayo Colombia South America| Risaralda Colombia South America| Santander Colombia South America| Tolima Colombia South America| Valle Colombia South America| Anzoátegui Venezuela South America| Aragua Venezuela South America| Distrito Federal Venezuela South America| Falcón Venezuela South America| Lara Venezuela South America| Mérida Venezuela South America| Trujillo Venezuela South America| Morona-Santiago Ecuador South America| Zamora Ecuador South America| Santa Cruz Bolivia South America| Guadeloupe South America| Saint Thomas Jamaica South America| Martinique South America|