Microdus miquelianus (Mont.) Besch.

  • Authority

    Buck, William R. 1987. Bryostephane Steereana: A Collection of Bryological Papers Presented to William Campbell Steere On The Occasion of His 80th Birthday. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 45: 1-749.

  • Family

    Dicranaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Microdus miquelianus (Mont.) Besch.

  • Description

    Distribution and Ecology - Collections studied: PHILIPPINES. Luzon: Mt. Makiling, Laguna Province, 11 Mar 1984, D. Ortiz; National Botanic Garden, Real, Quezon Province, 30 Nov 1974, A. Claustro 0-771130.

  • Discussion

    Plate III.

    The presence of this widespread species in the Philippines was not unexpected. It grows abundantly on disturbed clayey banks. Among the Philippine Dicranella taxa, D. leibergii Williams comes closest to it. The two taxa share characters, such as the elongate upper leaf cells and the subcylindric, erect capsules. Nevertheless, the former has flat or slightly recurved leaf margins (Williams, 1915) while Microdus miquelianus has thickened leaf margins. The Philippine plants the produce highly variable capsules ranging short-oblong to cylindric. The color ofthe setae likewise exhibit a range of colors from yellow to red. The illustration named Microdus insularis (Williams) Broth, in Del Rosario (1979, p. 25) should be corrected to Microdus miquelianus. Microdus insularis has long and narrow or suhulate-acuminate leaves with long upper leaf cells (15 to 25 times as long). Both features are clearly illustrated in Bartram (1939).

  • Distribution

    Collections studied: PHILIPPINES. Luzon: Mt. Makiling, Laguna Province, 11 Mar 1984, D. Ortiz; National Botanic Garden, Real, Quezon Province, 30 Nov 1974, A. Claustro 0-771130.

    Philippines Asia|