Cephalozia caribbeania Fulford

  • 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 caribbeania Fulford

  • Description

    Latin Diagnosis - Caules parvi, subtiles, subvirides brunnei-suffusi, 1-3 cm longi, ramis ventrali-intercalaribus, foliis sublongitudinaliter insertis. Folia patentia, ovato-truncata, bifida, segmentis rectis vel curvatis, apicibus 2 vel 3 cellulis; apicis cellulae 65-104 X 15-26 µ; laminae cellulae 65-78 X 65-78 µ, pariete uniformiter incrassata. Amphigastria obsoleta. Inflorescentia masculina ventralis, bracteis similibus foliis; inflorescentia femina ventralis, bracteis bifidis acutis. Perianthii os longe ciliatum, cellulis 150 X 26 µ.

    Species Description - Plants small, slender, pale green tinged with brown, in depressed mats or among other bryophytes; stems 1-3 cm long, with leaves 0.5-1.0 mm wide, irregularly branched, the branches ventral-intercalary, leafy, or short and often bearing a male or female inflorescence. Rhizoids frequent, from the ventral side of the stem, often branched at the tips. Line of leaf insertion nearly longitudinal. Leaves distant to approximate, plane, widely spreading to slightly ascendant, ovate 0.5-0.65 mm long, 0.25-0.45 mm wide, the dorsal margin convex, bifid to one-third their length, the segments usually straight, long triangular, acuminate from a 2-celled base, ending in a tip of 2 long cells, each 4-6 or more times as long as wide; cells of the segment tip mostly 65-104 X 15-26 µ, of the sinus margin 65-85 X 65-68 µ, a few smaller, the walls uniformly thickened, without trigones, the cuticle smooth. Underleaves absent. Plants dioicous. Male inflorescence terminal becoming intercalary on the stem or on a short branch, the bracts in many series, resembling the leaves, densely imbricate, concave. Female inflorescence on a short ventral branch, the bracts and bracteoles in 3 or 4 series, bifid, the segments entire, those of the innermost series long-acuminate, the tip cell very long. Perianth cylindrical below, with 3 broad rounded keels above, the mouth long-ciliate, the cilia mostly 5 cells long, the cells often 150 X 26 µ.

  • Discussion

    Cephalozia sandvicensis, Wright, Hep. Cub. Wright., in Hb. Non C. sandvicensis (Montagne).

  • Distribution

    Habitat: On logs, trees, soil and banks, in humid forests.

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