Cephalozia

  • Authority

    Fulford, Margaret H. 1968. Manual of the leafy Hepaticae of Latin America--Part III. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 11: 277-392.

  • Family

    Cephaloziaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Cephalozia

  • Description

    Genus Description - Plants small, light green, whitish or brown to reddish, prostrate or ascending, in mats or with other bryophytes; branches occasionally lateral, of the Frullania type, usually ventral-intercalary, leafy or short and bearing a male or female inflorescence, in some species often flagelliform; stem in transverse section with up to about 15 cortical rows, the cells larger than those of the medulla at least on the dorsal side. Rhizoids from the ventral side of the stem. Line of leaf insertion oblique, nearly longitudinal to nearly transverse. Leaves rotundate-ovate to long-ovate, often decurrent, bifid to one-third or one-half their length, the segments entire. Underleaves absent or of only a few cells or as slime papillae. Plants monoicous or dioicous. Male inflorescence spike-like, short, ventral or terminal becoming intercalary on the leafy axis; bracts larger or smaller than the leaves, bifid, pouched. Female inflorescence on a short ventral branch, the bracts and bracteoles in 3 or 4 series, similar to but larger than the leaves, sometimes coalesced at the base. Perianth long, cylindrical below, with three rounded keels above, the mouth narrowed, toothed, cleft, setulose or crenulate. Shoot-sporophyte relationship a shoot-calyptra. Sporophyte capsule oblong, light to dark brown, the wall 2-layered, with characteristic thickenings, the elaters arranged diagonally or transversely from the walls, the free ends converging toward the center of the capsule. Seta in section of 8 large outer cells and 4 small inner cells. Gemmae when present 1-celled, in green or reddish clusters on the tips of the stems.

  • Discussion

    Jungermannia sect. Cephalozia Dumortier, Syllog. Jungerm. 60. 1831. p.p. Jungermannia sect. Bicuspides Nees, Naturg. Eur. Leberm. 2: 211. 1836. Trigonanthus Spruce, Trans. Proc. Bot. Soc. Edinb. 3: 207. 1849. Cephalozia subg. Eucephalozia Spruce, On Cephalozia 30. 1882. Type species: Jungermannia bicuspidata Linnaeus, 1753.