Leskeodon auratus (Müll.Hal.) Broth.
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Authority
Buck, William R. 1998. Pleurocarpous mosses of the West Indies. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 82: 1-400.
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Family
Daltoniaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Plants small, in lustrous, yellow-green to golden, moderately sized, relatively dense mats. Stems suberect, to ca. 1 cm long, usually not branched, fragile; in cross-section with ca. 2 rows of colored, medium-sized, very thick-walled cells surrounding slightly larger but otherwise similar cells, central strand none; axillary hairs with a single shortish brown basal cell and 2-3 elongate hyaline distal cells. Leaves contorted when dry, lateral leaves wide-spreading, dorsal ones erect and somewhat smaller than lateral ones, ovate, obovate, oblong-ovate, oblong-obovate, or spatulate, 1.1-1.9 mm long, acute to broadly rounded, cuspidate, narrowly inserted, sometimes abruptly so; margins bordered by (2-)3-6 rows of narrow, elongate, thick-walled cells, merging above to form a stout apex, often twisted, entire, plane; costa single, relatively stout, ending ca. 3/4 the leaf length; upper cells irregularly rounded, 1:1, 6-12 µm diam., thick-walled, ± porose, not collenchymatous, toward insertion becoming rectangular, 3-5:1. Asexual propagula produced in tufts on rhizoids, uniseriate, hyaline, to ca. 500 µm long. Autoicous, synoicous, or dioicous. Perichaetia small, inconspicuous; leaves few, pale, erect, lanceolate, 0.6-0.9 mm long, gradually acuminate; margins bordered by 1-2 rows of narrow, elongate, thick-walled cells, merging to form a stout apex, entire, plane; costa none or single, slender, ending below midleaf; upper cells irregularly isodiametric to rhomboidal, 1-2:1, thick-walled, toward insertion becoming rectangular, to 5:1, and thinner-walled. Setae elongate, smooth throughout or obscurely roughened above, reddish, 4-6 mm long; capsules erect, short-cylindric, 0.40.8 mm long; exothecial cells subquadrate, firm-walled, not or obscurely collenchymatous; annulus none; operculum conic-rostrate; exostome teeth pale, relatively coarsely papillose throughout, recurved when dry, bordered, on front surface with a zig-zag median line, somewhat trabeculate at back; endostome pale, papillose throughout, with a very low basal membrane, segments not or slightly keeled, not perforate, shorter than the teeth, cilia none. Spores spherical, finely papillose, 6-14 pan diam. Calyptrae mitrate, covering only the operculum and apex of urn, fimbriate at base, naked, slightly roughened at apex.
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Discussion
Distichophyllum pusillum Mitt., J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 12: 394. 1869; Mniadelphus pusillus (Mitt.) A. Jaeger, Ber. Thãtigk. St. Gallischen Naturwiss. Ges. 1875-76: 318. 1877; Leskeodon pusillus (Mitt.) Broth, in Engl. & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. 1(3): 926. 1907. Discussion. Leskeodon auratus is characterized by mostly golden plants with typically obovate to spatulate leaves. The border is relatively strong, ranging from 2-6 cells in width. The upper leaf cells are thick-walled and irregularly rounded-isodiametric. Leskeodon auratus differs from L. cubensis by the smaller rounded leaf cells, stronger border, and the stouter, often shorter apex. From L. andicola, L. auratus differs in the less oblong, contorted leaves with a stronger border, stouter and longer apex, and more homogeneous areolation. The differences supposedly separating L. auratus from L. pusillus, sexuality and color, are both variable. In fact, the two characters do not even correlate with one another.
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Distribution
Range. Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, Trinidad; Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, reported from Guadeloupe, Dominica, St. Vincent; typically growing on tree trunks, rarely rocks, in humid forests, at 500-1500 m.
Costa Rica South America| Colombia South America| Brazil South America| Trinidad and Tobago South America| Cuba South America| Jamaica South America| Puerto Rico South America| Guadeloupe South America| Dominica South America| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines South America|