Vittia pachyloma (Mont.) Ochyra

  • Authority

    Hedenäs, Lars. 2003. Amblystegiaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 89: 1--107. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Amblystegiaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Vittia pachyloma (Mont.) Ochyra

  • Type

    Type. Chile. Prov. de Ñueble: Recinto, Las Trancas, El Purgatorio, 14 Apr 1929, Roivainen 994 (neotype, H, designated by Ochyra, 1987a; duplicate of neotype in AAS [types n.v.; the one at H not found in April 2000]).

  • Synonyms

    Hypnum conspissatum Hook.f. & Wilson, Sciaromium crassinervatum Mitt., Sciaromium obscurifolium Mitt., Hypnum confluens Müll.Hal., Limbella conspissatula Müll.Hal., Limbella pachylomata Müll.Hal., Limbella drepanophyllopsis Müll.Hal., Limbella krauseana Müll.Hal., Sciaromium depastum Dusén, Sciaromium nigritum Dusén, Sciaromium maritimum Cardot, Sciaromium scoulerioides Dusén, Sciaromium plicatum Herzog, Sciaromium pachyloma var. brevifolia Thér., Sciaromium brevicuspis Broth., Sciaromium pachyloma var. gracilescens Herzog, Gymnostomum pachyloma Mont., Grimmia pachyloma (Mont.) Mitt., Hypnum pachyloma (Mont.) Müll.Hal., Sciaromium pachyloma (Mont.) Paris

  • Description

    Species Description - Plants medium-sized or large; green, yellowish, brownish, or blackish. Stem irregularly branched; pseudoparaphyllia broad, triangular to suborbicular or irregular; axillary hairs with 1-2-celled upper part, this hyaline or pale brownish. Stem leaves falcate-secund or straight, erect-patent to almost spreading, more erect when dry, ovate or narrow-ovate, narrowing gradually to apex, not plicate, concave; apex acuminate or rather long-acuminate; margin denticulate near apex, otherwise entire, with wide border of (3-)4-8-stratose cells, strongly deviating from rest of lamina; costa single or with an occasional branch, long, ending slightly below leaf apex to excurrent or long-excurrent, (63.0-)82.0-210.0 µm wide near base, sometimes with scattered prorate cells on back above; median laminal cells 12.0-56.5(-65.0) × 4.0-9.5 µm, unistratose or partially to completely 2-4-stratose, thin-walled or slightly incrassate, slightly collenchymatous, eporose; alar cells not differentiated from other basal cells. Inner perichaetial leaves ovate or lanceolate-ovate. Lower outside of exostome cross-striolate. [Sporophytesknown only from south of the neotropical area.]

  • Discussion

    Notes. Ryszard Ochyra and John A. Christy have annotated two specimens in JE as lectotypes of Limbella pachylomata Mull. Hal. However, only one specimen can be the lectotype, and the one that was not published as lectotype (Ochyra, 1987a), collected on another day and from a slightly different locality, is thus a syntype of the name.

    Ochyra (1987a: p. 397) called Limbella drepanophyllopsis and Sciaromium drepanophyllopsis "L. drepanophyllariopsis" and "S. drepanophyllariopsis," respectively.

    Vittia pachyloma was reported from Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, and Argentina by Ochyra (1987a). Like many widespread rheophytic species, V pachyloma is rather variable in many features, but it is always easily recognized by its very strong costa and almost as strongly developed border. Among species of the Amblystegiaceae in the area it could only be confused with the Central American V bartlettii, from which it is easily separated by the characters given in the key. Ochyra (1987a) described the genus Vittia for V. pachyloma; since there are only a few quantitative characters separating V pachyloma from V bartlettii (see the key to the species), there seems to be little reason to treat these two species as generically different. A third S American taxon, V Salina Hedenäs & J. Munoz, occurs at two close localities in Catamarca in Argentina (Biasuso etal 99-60 (MA, S), 105a (MA, S), Hedenäs & Munoz, 2002). This taxon differs from V. pachyloma in having a leaf border of only two cell layers (like V bartlettii), and from V. bartlettii in having short leaf laminal cells (like V. pachyloma). A molecular study evaluating the status of the Vittiaceae (Vanderpoorten, Goffmet, Hedenäs & Shaw, unpublished data) has revealed a fourth species belonging to this genus from Bolivia. This species differs from the other Vittia species in lacking a bi- or multistratose leaf border, but has a partly bistratose lamina in the upper part of the leaf. It is more similar to a coarse specimen of Amblystegium tenax than to the other Vittia species. Ochyra’s (1987a) treatment provides a wealth of additional information about V. pachyloma and its variations.

    Ochyra (1987a) stated that the combinations in Limbella made by Muller (1897a) are invalid. However, since Muller referred to the basionym and makes clear that he thinks the taxon should be in Limbella, the combinations are correct when Limbella is valid.

    Distribution and Ecology: Colombia (2600-3500 m a.s.L), Peru (3360-3400 m), Brazil (900 m), Bolivia (2800-4000 m), and northern Argentina (4050 m). The species occurs ± continuously along the Andes from the neotropical area to the southernmost tip of S America, in South Georgia Islands, Falkland Islands, and Juan Fernandez Islands. It also occurs in S Africa and Kerguelen. The species grows on rocks and boulders in brooks and rivers, in waterfalls, sometimes also on wet rocks, and according to Ochyra (1987a) generally in acidic habitats.

  • Distribution

    Colombia South America| Cundinamarca Colombia South America| Peru South America| Brazil South America| Minas Gerais Brazil South America| Rio Grande do Sul Brazil South America| Bolivia South America| La Paz Bolivia South America| Argentina South America| Salta Argentina South America|