Aerolindigia capillacea (Hornsch.) M.Menzel
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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
Meteoriaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Plants mostly small and slender, in pale-green to golden, mostly small tufts. Stems creeping along substrate, scarcely branched but leaves not differentiated, becoming ± horizontal distally and there irregularly pinnately branched, to ca. 6 cm long but often only ca. 3 cm, branches mostly short, usually <1 cm long, but rarely longer; in cross-section with 2-4 rows of small thick-walled cells surrounding larger thinner-walled cells, central strand small, of small thin-walled cells; pseudoparaphyllia broadly foliose; axillary hairs with a single short basal cell and a single distal cell ca. 23:1, both hyaline. Stem and branch leaves similar but branch leaves smaller, spreading when dry or moist, inserted in a U-shaped line, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 1.5-2.2 mm long (shorter in branches), gradually acuminate, the leaf apex often twisted, subcordate at base, narrowly decurrent; margins serrulate throughout, plane to irregularly narrowly recurved; costa single, usually ending at or somewhat below midleaf, often projecting as a small spine at apex; cells long-hexagonal, ca. 10:1, in West Indian populations mostly ca. 60 µm long but in South America to 90 µm, smooth, firm-walled, subporose; alar cells not particularly differentiated but cells all across insertion short-rectangular, cells of decurrencies elongate in 1-2 rows and 1-3 cells long. Asexual propagula none. Autoicous, usually abundantly fertile. Perichaetial leaves erect, ± convolute, oblong-lanceolate, to ca. 2.3 mm long, broadly acuminate; margins serrulate above, entire below, plane; costa single or absent; cells long-hexagonal, smooth, firm-walled. Setae elongate, roughened throughout by projecting cell ends, mostly ca. 4 mm long but rarely <1 mm, usually pointing downward; capsules (erect to) suberect, occasionally ± arcuate when immature, cylindric, 1-1.2 mm long; exothecial cells short-rectangular, thin-walled, becoming oblate toward the mouth; annulus of 2 rows of small cells, scarcely thinner-walled than those of the exothecium; operculum obliquely conic-rostrate, ca. 0.8 mm long; exostome teeth yellow-brown at dehiscence, darkening with age, on the front surface cross-striolate below, coarsely papillose above, somewhat trabeculate at back; endostome with the basal membrane scarcely higher than the annulus to medium-high, smooth to sparsely papillose, segments lightly papillose, keeled, perforate, ca. as long as the teeth, cilia none. Spores spherical, finely papillose, 15-20(-25) µm diam. Calyptrae cucullate, naked, somewhat roughened above from projecting cell ends.
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Discussion
1. Aerolindigia capillacea (Hornsch.) M. Menzel, Nova Hedwigia 52: 322. 1991; Pilotrichum capillaceum Hornsch. in Mart., Fl. Bras. 1(2): 58. 1840; Neckera capillacea Homsch. in Mart., Fl. Bras. 1(2): 58. 1840, nom. nud. in sync, Lindigia capillacea (Hornsch.) Hampe ex Lorentz, Bot. Zeitung (Berlin) 26: 819. 1869; Meteorium capillaceum (Homsch.) A. Jaeger, Ber. Thätigk. St. Gallischen Naturwiss. Ges. 1875-76: 251. 1877; Rhynchostegiella capillacea (Hornsch.) Visnadi & B. H. Allen, Bryologist 94: 14. 1991. Plate 100, figures 1-7 Leskea aciculata Taylor, London J. Bot. 6: 339. 1847; Neckera aciculata (Taylor) Mitt., Hooker’s J. Bot. Kew Gard. Misc. 3: 353. 1851; Meteorium aciculatum (Taylor) Mitt., J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 12: 448. 1869; Lindigia aciculata (Taylor) Hampe, Bot. Zeitung (Berlin) 27: 868. 1869. A large number of additional synonyms are cited by both Menzel (1991) and Visnadi and Allen (1991). None has been used in the West Indies and I have not verified them. Discussion. In the field Aerolindigia capillacea is very striking in its most typical habitat on twigs in cloud forests. The stems grow out horizontally from the twigs, have spreading leaves, and setae and capsules that point downward. The slender plants have unicostate leaves with smooth cells. The alar region is not differentiated as such, but cells across the whole insertion are short. The setae are roughened and although occasionally quite short in part of its range, in the West Indies the capsules are always well exserted. The suberect capsules have hypnoid peristomes inserted somewhat below the capsule mouth, but lack cilia. In aspect there are a couple of mosses that might be mistaken for Aerolindigia capillacea. Campylium chrysophyllum also has spreading leaves, but it typically grows in drier, terrestrial habitats, has channelled leaf apices, and has differentiated alar cells. Growing in similar habitats and occasionally even mixed with A. capillacea is Acroporium estrellue. However, it is a somewhat more robust plant with leaves more erect. Microscopically Acroporium estrellae is immediately recognizable by the lack of a costa and large, colored, inflated alar cells. Lindigia, with a single species, L. debilis (Wilson ex Mitt.) A. Jaeger, could conceivably be found at high elevations of Hispaniola. It is currently known from Costa Rica and the Andes of northern South America and can be recognized by weakly branched stems, porose laminal cells, smooth setae, conic opercula, and papillose exostome teeth.
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Distribution
Range. Southernmost Mexico through Central America, Colombia and Venezuela south through the Andes to northern Argentina, mountainous southeastern Brazil, highlands of east-central Africa, Madagascar; Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic); growing on twigs, tree trunks, and rocks, mostly in cloud forests, at 1200-2100 m.
Mexico North America| Central America| Colombia South America| Venezuela South America| Ecuador South America| Peru South America| Bolivia South America| Argentina South America| Chile South America| Brazil South America| Africa| Madagascar Africa| Jamaica South America| Dominican Republic South America| Haiti South America|