Ceratolejeunea cornuta (Lindenb.) Schiffn.

  • Authority

    Dauphin L, G. 2003. . Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 90: 1-86. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Lejeuneaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Ceratolejeunea cornuta (Lindenb.) Schiffn.

  • Type

    Type. Jamaica. Without locality, on Grammitis serrulatus, Swartz s.n. (holotype, W).

  • Synonyms

    Ceratolejeunea involvens (Nees & Mont.) Steph., Ceratolejeunea splitgerberiana Steph., Ceratolejeunea haeckeriana (Gottsche & Lindenb.) Steph., Ceratolejeunea martiana (Gottsche) Steph., Ceratolejeunea variabilis (Lindenb.) Steph., Lejeunea variabilis var. subserrata Spruce, Lejeunea variabilis var. saproxylophila Spruce, Ceratolejeunea fuliginosa (Spruce) Steph., Ceratolejeunea grandibracteolata Fulford, Ceratolejeunea hylophila (Spruce) Steph., Lejeunea hylophila var. subdenticulata Spruce, Ceratolejeunea maritima (Spruce) Steph., Ceratolejeunea megalophysa (Spruce) Steph., Ceratolejeunea microrhegma (Spruce) Steph., Ceratolejeunea rufopellucida (Spruce) Steph., Ceratolejeunea spruceana Zwickel, Ceratolejeunea miradorensis (Steph.) Steph., Ceratolejeunea andicola R.M.Schust., Ceratolejeunea sintenisii Steph., Ceratolejeunea valida A.Evans, Ceratolejeunea brevicornuta Steph., Ceratolejeunea bullatiloba Steph., Ceratolejeunea diversiloba Steph., Ceratolejeunea furcata Steph., Ceratolejeunea rionegrensis Steph., Ceratolejeunea litoralis Herzog, Ceratolejeunea lobata L.Clark, Jungermannia cornuta Lindenb., Lejeunea cornuta (Lindenb.) Nees, Colura cornuta (Lindenb.) Trevis.

  • Description

    Species Description - Plants autoicous or dioicous, green or brown to almost black, creeping to hanging, leafy shoots 0.82.1 mm wide, sparsely to profusely branched. Stems 70-180 µm in diameter, medullary cells 10-30 in cross section, ventral cells in surface view quadrate to rectangular, 15-55 × 25-85 µm, dorsal cells quadrate to rectangular, 30-58 × 30-95 µm. Flagelliferous branches absent. Stem leaves imbricate; lobe ovate from a wide base, sometimes asymmetrical, 400-600 × 440-750 µm, antical margins entire or toothed near the apex, teeth 0-4, 1-2 cells long, ca. 10 µm long, postical margin entire or with 0-2 teeth, apex rounded or broadly acute, incurved or plane; median leaf lobe cells isodiametrical to elliptical, 10-40 × 15-50 µm; marginal cells quadrate to rectangular, 10-15 × 15-30 µm; oil bodies smooth, transversely 1-4 septate, spherical to elliptical, 2 × 9 µm, 2-5 per cell; ocelli long-hexagonal, 20-40 × 40-65 µm, basal, geminate or rarely seriate, (0-)3-7(-8) per leaf; lobules ovoid, reduced or spherical, 0.2(0.1-0.6) the leaf lobe length, free margin involute or plane, apical tooth short or long and curved; hyaline papilla bulging. Utriculi rare, solitary or in pairs at the base of lateral branches, rounded to reniform. Underleaves orbicular to reni-form, 160-730 × 160-560 µm, lobes acute, ending in a one-celled tip, margins entire, plane or rarely incurved, base frequently cordate, lobe auricles rounded. Androecia lateral on main branches, rarely intercalary on main or lateral branches, in spikes of 4-8(-14) bract pairs, 480-1000(-2400) µm long, bracts 2-androus, male bracteole, 120-130 × 120-170 µm, 1-2 per spike, notched or bifid to 1/2 Gynoecia on lateral branches with 1-2 sterile or repeatedly fertile innovations; female bracts obovate, 450-560 × 750-800 µm, margins dentate throughout or only distally, teeth to 75 µm long, bract lobule ovate lanceolate, 200-300 × 370-650 µm, margins entire, apex acuminate, sometimes with 2 ocelli on the lower central part; bracteoles ovate, 480-520 × 280 µm, bifid to 1/4, lobes short to long acuminate, margins entire, connate at the base with the bracts. Perianth obconic, 170-800 × 280-900 µm, with four conical horns, slender to inflated, 50-80 × 80-300 µm, edges smooth to crenulate. Elaters 12.5 × 190 µm. Spores long rectangular to irregularly shaped, 18-44 × 3670 µm, verruculose-tuberculate, rosettes simple.

  • Discussion

    Ceratolejeunea cornuta shows usually one solitary or two isolated basal ocelli, a small lobule 0.2 the leaf lobe length, orbicular to reniform underleaves, and a perianth with four well-developed horns. Branches with series of inflated lobules are also common. This species tends to vary in all of these characters. The variation in the underleaf size and shape is very striking: when the plants grow in thick mats or even turfs they can be small, ovate, the base without lobes, about the width of the stem; when the plants grow more robust, the underleaves become larger, reniform, the base cordate with rounded lobes and up to six times the stem width. Lucking (1995) described this variation on a single stem growing first on bark and then accidentally on a leaf.

    Small plants can be confused with Ceratolejeunea cubensis; for comparison see under the latter. Ceratolejeunea fallax is closely related to C. cornuta. The two species can be separated based on the presence of seriate ocelli in C. fallax and a basal single or two isolated ocelli in C. cornuta. Extremely wet places and submerged trunks are typical habitats for C. fallax. Additionally, C. fallax are rather robust and dull colored, in contrast with C. cornuta, which is usually lighter in color.

    Ceratolejeunea cornuta is probably a pantropical taxon. Miller et al. (1983) reported it as C. maritima (Spruce) Steph. from Polynesia. Grolle (1995) reported C. cornuta (Lindenb.) Steph. from Madagascar and Reunion without certainty of its identity at species level. He also reported C. variabilis (Lindenb.) Schiffn. from this region.

    Illustrations: Evans (1905, plate 19 as C. valida Evans; plate 20 as C. schwaneckei Steph.); Fulford (1945, p. 395 as C. megalophysa (Spruce) Steph.; p. 380 as C. flagelliformis (Steph.); p. 389 under various names).

    Distribution and Ecology: Neotropical. Ubiquitous species in lowland rainforest and semi-deciduous tropical forest up to montane areas, 0-2500 m, growing usually in well illuminated places, in light gaps, canopies, and old-secondary growth areas. This species forms thin or thick mats or turfs on living bark, but can also grow on rotten logs, rocks, leaves, and almost every possible substrate. It grows in pure mats or mixed with other bryophytes, and often appears mixed with other Ceratolejeunea species. Selected

  • Distribution

    Mexico North America| Veracruz Mexico North America| Guatemala Central America| Alta Verapaz Guatemala Central America| Honduras Central America| Atlántida Honduras Central America| Comayagua Honduras Central America| Cortés Honduras Central America| Costa Rica South 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| Canal Zone Panamá Central America| Chiriquí Panamá Central America| Coclé Panamá Central America| Darién Panamá Central America| Panamá Panama Central America| Cuba South America| Guantánamo Cuba South America| Santiago de Cuba Cuba South America| Jamaica South America| Saint Andrew Jamaica South America| Saint Thomas Jamaica South America| Haiti South America| Dominican Republic South America| La Vega Dominican Republic South America| Puerto Rico South America| Luquillo Puerto Rico South America| Guatemala Central America| Dominica South America| Saint Kitts and Nevis South America| Martinique South America| Saint Lucia South America| Colombia South America| Amazonas Colombia South America| Boyacá Colombia South America| Caquetá Colombia South America| Casanare Colombia South America| Chocó Colombia South America| Cundinamarca Colombia South America| Meta Colombia South America| Nariño Colombia South America| Putumayo Colombia South America| Risaralda Colombia South America| Norte de Santander Colombia South America| Valle Colombia South America| Vaupés Colombia South America| Venezuela South America| Amazonas Venezuela South America| Apure Venezuela South America| Aragua Venezuela South America| Bolívar Venezuela South America| Carabobo Venezuela South America| Falcón Venezuela South America| Lara Venezuela South America| Miranda Venezuela South America| Rio Negro Venezuela South America| Sucre Venezuela South America| Yaracuy Venezuela South America| Trinidad and Tobago South America| Guyana South America| Potaro-Siparuni Guyana South America| Mazaruni Guyana South America| Suriname South America| Nickerie Suriname South America| Paramaribo Suriname South America| French Guiana South America| Cayenne French Guiana South America| Saül French Guiana South America| Ecuador South America| Esmeraldas Ecuador South America| Galápagos Islands Ecuador South America| Los Ríos Ecuador South America| Napo Ecuador South America| Pichincha Ecuador South America| Peru South America| Loreto Peru South America| Brazil South America| Amazonas Brazil South America| Pará Brazil South America| Rondônia Brazil South America| São Paulo Brazil South America| Bolivia South America| Beni Bolivia South America| Cochabamba Bolivia South America| La Paz Bolivia South America|