Fissidens crispus Mont.

Authority

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

Family

Fissidentaceae

Scientific Name

Fissidens crispus Mont.

Type

Type. Argentina. Ad terram arenosam in sylvis Provinciae Corrientes secus flumen S. Lucie cum Hypno microphyllo et Gymnostomo Orbigniano, d'Orbigny s.n. (holotype, PC-Mont; isotypes, BM, FH, PC). The isotypes in BM and FH lack label data.

Synonyms

Fissidens repandus Wilson ex Mitt., Fissidens limbatus Sull., Fissidens tortilis Hampe & Müll.Hal., Fissidens subcrispus Besch., Fissidens chrysopoma Müll.Hal., Fissidens reclinatulus Müll.Hal., Fissidens reclinatulus Müll.Hal., Fissidens lonchothecius Müll.Hal., Fissidens fendleri Müll.Hal., Fissidens oligophyllus Müll.Hal., Fissidens stenosemus Schimp., Fissidens carionis Müll.Hal., Fissidens fasciculato-bryoides Müll.Hal., Fissidens aequalis E.S.Salmon, Fissidens crispans Schimp., Fissidens percrispus Müll.Hal., Fissidens circinatulus Besch., Fissidens cincinnatulus Besch. & Geh. ex Broth., Fissidens pusillus var. brevifolius Cardot & Thér., Fissidens limbatus var. ensiformis Grout, Fissidens limbatus var. brevifolius (Cardot & Thér.) Grout, Fissidens chilensis Dusén, Fissidens subaloma Dusén, Fissidens pringlei Cardot, Fissidens reclinatulus var. brevifolius Cardot, Fissidens tortilis var. brevifolius (Cardot) Thér., Fissidens heribaudii Broth. & Paris, Fissidens sanctae-crucis Broth., Fissidens pauper Herzog, Fissidens costesii Thér., Fissidens pseudo-incurvatus Müll.Hal. ex Broth., Fissidens pseudo-incurvatus var. latifolius Broth., Fissidens alticaulis Broth., Fissidens fernandezianus Broth., Fissidens arsenei Broth. & Paris ex Thér., Fissidens pennaeformis Paris, Fissidens longidecurrens Thér., Fissidens flexuosus Thér., Fissidens tortilis var. cubensis Thér.

Description

Species Description - Plants pale to dark green. Stems monomorphic, unbranched or branched, quite variable in length, 435 mm long x 1.5-3.0 mm wide often dark brown-red or castaneous proximally; rhizoids basal and axillary, smooth, reddish; axillary hyaline nodules present; epidermis and outer 1-3 tiers of cortical cells small, incrassate, pigmented; inner cortical cells larger, thin-walled, hyaline; central strand present or absent. Leaves usually crispate when dry, as many as 30 pairs, distant to imbricate, oblong to lanceolate, acute to obtuse-acuminate, 0.7-3.5 mm long x 0.20.5 mm wide, perichaetial leaves usually longest; margin entire, often denticulate-serrulate distally, limbate on all laminae, limbidium usually ending slightly below leaf apex and at leaf insertion, limbidial cells uni- to tristratose, often edged with 1-3 rows of quadrate to oblong chlorophyllose cells on proximal parts of vaginant laminae; costa percurrent, infrequently short-excurrent, bryoides type; dorsal lamina variable, even on the same plant, ceasing at or slightly above insertion to long decurrent, often to next leaf below; vaginant laminae of cauline leaves 1/2-3/4 leaf length, acute, equal or nearly so; laminal cells ± obscure, eguttulate, unistratose, smooth, bulging, quadrate to irregularly hexagonal, often arranged in distinct rows in dorsal and ventral laminae, in transverse section mostly twice as deep as wide, 5-11 pm long, somewhat larger in vaginant laminae. Monoicous (polyoicous). Sporophytes 1-2 per perichaetium, reddish; seta smooth, 2-12 mm long; theca exserted, erect, radially symmetric to suberect, slightly arcuate, bilaterally symmetric, 0.4-1.2 mm long, stomatose, exothecial cells quadrate to oblong, vertical walls often thicker than horizontal walls, collenchymatous; peristome bryoides type; operculum conic, short-rostrate, 0.6 pm long. Spores finely papillose, 9-20 pm diam. Calyptra cucullate, smooth, 0.5 mm long.

Discussion

Fissidens crispus has the broadest distribution of any species of Fissidens in the Neotropics, occurring from northern Mexico south to Chile and Argentina, but absent from the Yucatán Peninsula and much of the Amazon Basin. The species is also one of the most variable species in Fissidens. Nevertheless, F. crispus can be recognized by a suite of characters, all of which might not be present in a given collection. Leaves in F. crispus, as the specific epithet reflects, are usually strongly crispate when dry. Typically, the stems are a dark brown-red or castaneous for at least a portion of their length. This character alone, however, will not distinguish the species since some expressions lack this coloration, and, more importantly, it is present in expressions of F. bryoides. Axillary hyaline nodules are present, but at times these can be difficult to discern without resorting to sectioning. The dorsal lamina is often decurrent to nearly the next lower internode and this is a distinctive feature of some expressions of the species. However, in some expressions the dorsal lamina ends at the insertion or even a short distance above the insertion; this latter condition is most often found in expressions from drier sites. The limbidium usually ceases a few cells below the leaf apex, but in some cases it is confluent distally. In small expressions, particularly those from drier sites, the limbidium can fail to differentiate on the dorsal and ventral laminae. An outstanding feature, which will help to distinguish F. crispus from other species (F. sublimbatus excepted), is the small, bulging, densely chlorophyllose, obscure cells of the dorsal and ventral laminae that are usually arranged in distinct rows. In tranverse section these cells are typically twice as deep as wide. The quadrate to slightly oblong chlorophyllose cells that border the limbidium in the proximal parts of the vaginant laminae, a feature shared with F. sublimbatus and F. bryoides, are poorly developed in or absent from some of the larger expressions.

Distribution and Ecology: Mexico (known from all states except Aguascalientes, Campeche, Colima, Nayarit, Quintana Roo, Sinaloa, Yucatán); Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama); West Indies (Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico); South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela); on moist soil, silt, rocks and boulders, and rotting logs and tree trunks; 20m (parts of Chile) to 4300 m (Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru). The species also occurs along the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Coast of the United States, in Europe, and northern Africa.

Distribution

Santiago Chile South America| Norte de Santander Colombia South America| Elías Piña Dominican Republic South America| Cotopaxi Ecuador South America| Central Paraguay South America| Apurímac Peru South America| Goiás Brazil South America| Baja California Mexico North America| Baja California Sur Mexico North America| Chiapas Mexico North America| Chihuahua Mexico North America| Coahuila Mexico North America| Distrito Federal Mexico North America| Durango Mexico North America| Guanajuato Mexico North America| Guerrero Mexico North America| Hidalgo Mexico North America| Jalisco Mexico North America| México Mexico North America| Michoacán Mexico North America| Morelos Mexico North America| Nuevo León Mexico North America| Oaxaca Mexico North America| Puebla Mexico North America| Querétaro Mexico North America| San Luis Potosí Mexico North America| Sonora Mexico North America| Tabasco Mexico North America| Tamaulipas Mexico North America| Tlaxcala Mexico North America| Veracruz Mexico North America| Zacatecas Mexico North America| Alta Verapaz Guatemala Central America| El Progreso Guatemala Central America| Huehuetenango Guatemala Central America| Quezaltenango Guatemala Central America| Quiché Guatemala Central America| Sacatepéquez Guatemala Central America| San Marcos Guatemala Central America| Sololá Guatemala Central America| Zacapa Guatemala Central America| Comayagua Honduras Central America| Francisco Morazán Honduras Central America| Lempira Honduras Central America| Olancho Honduras Central America| Santa Bárbara Honduras Central America| San Salvador El Salvador Central America| Santa Ana El Salvador Central America| Estelí Nicaragua Central America| Managua Nicaragua Central America| Matagalpa Nicaragua Central America| Alajuela Costa Rica Central America| Cartago Costa Rica Central America| Heredia 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| Panamá Panama Central America| Cienfuegos Cuba South America| Santiago de Cuba Cuba South America| Portland Jamaica South America| Trelawny Jamaica South America| Nord Haiti South America| Ouest Haiti South America| Sud Haiti South America| La Vega Dominican Republic South America| Pedernales Dominican Republic South America| San Juan Dominican Republic South America| Puerto Rico South America| Antioquia Colombia South America| Boyacá Colombia South America| Caldas Colombia South America| Cauca Colombia South America| Cundinamarca Colombia South America| Huila Colombia South America| Meta Colombia South America| Nariño Colombia South America| Quindío Colombia South America| Santander Colombia South America| Tolima Colombia South America| Valle Colombia South America| Aragua Venezuela South America| Barinas Venezuela South America| Distrito Federal Venezuela South America| Falcón Venezuela South America| Lara Venezuela South America| Mérida Venezuela South America| Miranda Venezuela South America| Monagas Venezuela South America| Sucre Venezuela South America| Táchira Venezuela South America| Trujillo Venezuela South America| Zulia Venezuela South America| Azuay Ecuador South America| Carchi Ecuador South America| Chimborazo Ecuador South America| Galápagos Islands Ecuador South America| Imbabura Ecuador South America| Loja Ecuador South America| Pichincha Ecuador South America| Zamora-Chinchipe Ecuador South America| Amazonas Peru South America| Cajamarca Peru South America| Cusco Peru South America| Huánuco Peru South America| Junín Peru South America| La Libertad Peru South America| Pasco Peru South America| San Martín Peru South America| Distrito Federal Brazil South America| Espirito Santo Brazil South America| Minas Gerais Brazil South America| Paraná Brazil South America| Rio de Janeiro Brazil South America| Rio Grande do Sul Brazil South America| São Paulo Brazil South America| Beni Bolivia South America| Chuquisaca Bolivia South America| Cochabamba Bolivia South America| La Paz Bolivia South America| Santa Cruz Bolivia South America| Tarija Bolivia South America| Biobío Chile South America| Cautín Chile South America| Los Lagos Chile South America| Maule Chile South America| Valdivia Chile South America|