Micropterygium leiophyllum Spruce
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Authority
Fulford, Margaret H. 1966. Manual of the leafy Hepaticae of Latin America--Part II. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 11: 173-276.
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Family
Lepidoziaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Leafy stems of medium size, yellowish green, ascendent from a branched rhizome, in loose tufts or mats; stems 3-4 cm long, with leaves, to 1.5 mm broad, simple to bipinnately branched, sometimes becoming flagelliform above, ventral flagelliform branches frequent. Rhizoids brown, in tufts from scale-leaves of the flagelliform branches and the rhizome. Leaves spreading, imbricate, often undulate when dry, more or less open-plane below, ovate-truncate to rectangular in outline, to 0.8 mm long, 0.4 mm broad at the middle, concave and with a broad keel and a wide, conspicuous wing above, the dorsal lobe twice as broad as the ventral, the apex open, broad, truncate, the margins and wing coarsely dentateserrate; cells of the upper part mostly quadrate, 18-20 µ across, the walls equally thickened, trigones inconspicuous, the cuticle smooth to faintly verruculose. Underleaves large, conspicuous, mostly broader than the stem, longer than broad, ovate to rectangular, the apex with two to four triangular teeth three to seven cells long, the margins entire. Plants dioicous, the short sexual branches near the base of a leafy stem. Male branches long, flaccid, slender, catkin-like, hyaline or tinged with brown, the bracts in to 16 pairs, short-ovate, concave, squarrose above, the apex of two long cells, the bracteoles plane, like the underleaves, smaller. Female branches very short, the bracts and bracteoles long, keeled below, in three or four series, the innermost series to 1.5 mm long, ovate, the upper part divided into two or three, toothed segments. Perianth to 4 mm long, three-keeled with additional folds above, the mouth contracted, long laciniateciliate, the cells long. Spores red-brown, 10-12 p, faintly verruculose. Pl. 58. Fig. 8, a-d.
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Discussion
Jungermannia pterygophyllum Nees p.p. in Martius, Fl. Bras. 1(1): 377. 1833; in Martius, Icon, plant, brasil. p. 34 [excl. t. 19] 1828-1834.
Herpetium pterygophyllum Nees ms.
Micropterygium vulgare Nees, Lindenberg, Gottsche A-ar. a p.p. in G. L. & N. Syn. Hep. 234. 1844.
Micropterygium pterygophyllum (Nees) Trevisan p.p., Mem. 1st. Lomb. III. 4: 413. 1877.
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Distribution
Habitat: On logs, trunks of trees, rocks, rarely over soil, in forests at elevations usually below 500 m.
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