Lepidopilum brevipes Mitt.
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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
Pilotrichaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Plants relatively small, in lustrous, mostly bright-green, thin mats or tufts. Primary stems creeping, often elongate, to 10 cm but mostly considerably shorter, with erect, mostly simple, relatively laxly foliate, strongly complanate-foliate branches, to 2 cm; in cross-section with a unistratose hyalodermis over 1-2(-3) rows of medium-sized thick-walled colored cells surrounding large thin-walled cells, central strand none; axillary hairs 2-celled, with a short brown basal cell and an elongate hyaline distal cell. Leaves little altered when dry, often flat, lateral and dorsal leaves mostly differentiated, lateral leaves ovate-lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, (1.4-) 1.9-2.7(-3) mm long, mostly long-acuminate, ± asymmetric, not rounded to the insertion, dorsal leaves ovate to oblong-lanceolate, abruptly long-acuminate, ± symmetric; margins not bordered, serrulate above, entire below, plane throughout to recurved below; costa double, ending 1/4-1/2 the leaf length; cells long-hexagonal to linear, mostly thin-walled, not differentiated in the apex, becoming rectangular and colored in 1-2 rows across the insertion; alar cells not differentiated. Asexual propagula not seen. Autoicous (? perhaps dioicous extralimitally). Perichaetia small, inconspicuous, in leaf axils of primary branches; leaves few, pale, erect, ovate-lanceolate, 0.7-0.9 mm long, gradually acuminate; margins not or obscurely bordered by a single row of long-rectangular cells, serrulate in the acumen, entire below, plane; costa none; cells long-hexagonal, firm-walled, ± porose, becoming shorter, broader and colored in a single row across the insertion. Setae short, strongly to weakly papillose throughout, reddish, 1.7-2.2(-3) mm long, straight to flexuose; capsules erect to suberect, short-cylindric, 0.8-1.2 mm long; exothecial cells rectangular, firm-walled, weakly collenchymatous; annulus of a single row of subquadrate to oblate cells; operculum short-rostrate; exostome teeth recurved when dry, strongly bordered, densely and finely papillose throughout, on the front surface pale, yellow and slightly or not trabeculate at back; endostome with a low basal membrane, segments densely papillose, erect, slightly keeled, not perforate, cilia none. Spores spherical, finely papillose, 14-18 µm diam. Calyptrae mitrate, covering operculum and upper ca. 1/4 of urn, subplicate, irregularly lobed at base, naked or with a few scattered hairs, slightly roughened at apex.
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Discussion
Lepidopilum antillarum Mitt., J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 12: 377. 1869. Discussion. Lepidopilum brevipes is characterized by ± asymmetric, long-acuminate leaves, short setae, and ± naked calyptrae. It was collected in the West Indies during the last century only as the syntypes of L. antillarum. It might be confused with L. scabrisetum, but in L. brevipes the leaves are mostly longer, the setae are usually shorter, and the calyptrae are ± naked (rather than densely hairy).
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Distribution
Range. Mexico to Panama, Colombia to Peru, French Guiana, Brazil; St. Vincent, Barbados; growing on tree trunks and branches, in humid forests, at 100-600(-2400) m.
Mexico North America| Central America| Colombia South America| Ecuador South America| Peru South America| French Guiana South America| Brazil South America| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines South America| Barbados South America|