Fissidens taylorii Müll.Hal.

  • Authority

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

  • Family

    Fissidentaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Fissidens taylorii Müll.Hal.

  • Type

    Type. Australia. Swan River, J. Drummond s.n. (lectotype, FH; isolectotypes, BM, FH).

  • Synonyms

    Fissidens geheebii Müll.Hal., Fissidens paraguensis Broth., Fissidens caespitulosus Müll.Hal. ex Broth., Fissidens cespitulosus Müll.Hal., Fissidens pseudo-exilis Thér.

  • Description

    Species Description - Plants pale green. Stems dimorphic, delicate, unbranched or branched from older parts; infertile ones to 5 mm long x to 2 mm wide, fertile ones shorter; rhizoids basal, smooth, reddish; axillary hyaline nodules present; epidermis and outer tier of cortical cells small, incrassate, pigmented; inner cortical cells larger, thin-walled, hyaline; central strand absent. Leaves ± críspate when dry, distant to imbricate, as many as 18 pairs, often more numerous on infertile stems, lanceolate, acute to ± obtuse, to 1.6 mm long x 0.1-0.3 mm wide, perichaetial leaves longest; margin ± entire to somewhat serrulate, particularly distally, elimbate or irregularly limbate, limbidium ending below leaf apex, sometimes weak on dorsal and ventral laminae, often present only on vaginant laminae, limbidial cells uni-or bistratose; costa ending 2-5 cells below apex to percurrent, bryoides type; dorsal lamina narrowing proximally, ending slightly above or at insertion; vaginant laminae of cauline leaves 1/2-2/3 leaf length, acute, ± equal, minor lamina ending on or near margin; laminal cells distinct, eguttulate, unistratose, smooth, plane or slightly bulging, most irregularly hexagonal, somewhat longer than wide, 9-18 µm 6-11 µm. Monoicous (rhizautoicous); perigonial stems gemmiform at base of fertile and infertile stems; perichaetia terminal. Sporophytes 1-2 per perichaetium, yellow, darkening with age; seta smooth, 2.5-12 mm long; theca exserted, ± erect, radially symmetric to inclined, bilaterally symmetric, 0.2-0.8 mm long, stomatose, exothecial cells quadrate to oblong, vertical walls thicker than horizontal walls, collenchymatous; peristome bryoides type; operculum conic, short-rostrate, 0.2 mm long. Spores finely papillose, 14-27 µm diam. Calyptra not seen.

  • Discussion

    Synonyms from outside the area of this study (Dixon, 1923; Stone & Beever, 1996): Fissidens basilaris Miill. Hal. & Hampe, Fissidens brevifolius Hook. f. & Wilson, Fissidens epiphytus Allison, Fissidens gillianus Catches. & I. G. Stone, Fissidens nanopyxis Miill. Hal., Fissidens pygmaeus Taylor, Fissidens ramiger Beckett, Fissidens sarcophyllus Burchard & Broth, (non Fissidens sarcophyllus Miill. Hal. ex Dusén), and Fissidens sullivanii Miill. Hal. I have excluded from this list Fissidens taylorii var. sains-burianus (Dixon) Allison.

    Fissidens taylorii, known from only a few collections in the Americas, is close to F. curvatus. Both species have limbate leaves and a bryoides type peristome, but F. taylorii differs by its shorter costa and less well developed limbidium. The variability of the limbidium in F. taylorii is most striking. The smaller leaves of infertile plants can be elimbate, as in the type specimens of F. taylorii and F. geheebii. On the other hand, the larger leaves of the infertile stems can be limbate on all laminae, as in the holotype of F. caespitulosus. The limbidium on smaller leaves can be only 1 cell wide and 1 cell in thickness, but on larger leaves it can be broader and the cells bis-tratose. Often the limbidium is present only for short distances on the dorsal and ventral laminae. Grout (1941b, 1943) reported Steere 7225 from Puerto Rico as F. exiguus Sull. because the limbidium was found primarily on the vaginant laminae of leaves of perichaetial stems.

  • Distribution

    Mexico (Michoacán); West Indies (Puerto Rico); South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay); on soil and stones; to 2000 m. The species is also distributed in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States [Arkansas (Pursell, 1997c), California (Kellman, 2003)].

    Mexico North America| Puerto Rico South America| Minas Gerais Brazil South America| Rio Grande do Sul Brazil South America| Santa Catarina Brazil South America| São Paulo Brazil South America| Cochabamba Bolivia South America| Paraguay South America| Tucuman Argentina South America| Montevideo Uruguay South America|