Meteorium deppei (Hornsch. ex Müll.Hal.) 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
Meteoriaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Plants medium-sized to relatively robust, in dull, green or less often golden to red-brown, sometimes black-tinged in older parts, soft, often extensive colonies. Stems initially creeping and then becoming pendent, to ca. 30 cm long but often only ca. 10 cm, irregularly to ± regularly pinnate, the branches mostly pendent, short (<1 cm) and turgid to elongate (to ca. 8 cm) and not particularly turgid, terete-foliate; in cross-section with 3-5 rows of small thick-walled cells surrounding larger thin-walled cells, central strand small, of very small thin-walled cells; pseudopa-raphyllia foliose, with cells papillose; axillary hairs with (l-)2 short brown basal cells and 3-4(-5) short hyaline distal cells. Stem and branch leaves similar, the stem leaves sometimes somewhat larger with longer acumina, branch leaves erect to erect-appressed, little altered when moist, inserted in a straight line ± perpendicular to the stem, lanceolate to oblong-ovate, 1.8-2.4 mm long (excluding the acumen), gradually or ± abruptly tapered to a slender, hairpointed, sometimes crispate apex, concave at least at leaf base or sometimes throughout, often ± plicate, especially when dry, from an expanded, ± cordate base, sometimes a bit undulate, narrowly decurrent; margins papillose-denticulate throughout, often undulate above, incurved just below the acumen and plane below (when abruptly acuminate) to plane above and incurved at cordate base (when gradually acuminate); costa single, slender, ending near midleaf (or occasionally lower) to just below base of acumen, not projecting at apex; cells linear, ca. 10:1, with 1(-3) papillae/cell on both surfaces (leaves of long-pendent branches more likely pluripapillose, but when so the papillae not seriately arranged), thick-walled, porose, becoming longer, smooth and ± flexuose juxtacostally near the leaf base, shorter and broader across the ± semicircular insertion; alar cells few but usually distinct, especially in triangular area just above decurrencies, subquadrate, smooth, firm-walled, porose. Asexual propagula rare, of microphyllous flagellate branches, never with caducous leaves. Dioicous. Perichaetia scattered along branches; leaves erect, oblong, ca. 2.1 mm long (only a single mature perichaetium seen), abruptly slenderly acuminate, hairpointed; margins subentire, plane; costa single, ending ca. 3/4 the leaf length; cells linear, smooth, firm-walled, porose, becoming broader and thinner-walled toward the insertion. Setae relatively short, indistinctly roughened above, yellow-brown, ca. 3 mm long, from a densely hairy vaginula; capsules erect, symmetric, cylindric, ca. 1.5 mm long; exothecial cells subquadrate to short-rectangular, ± thin-walled, becoming oblate in 1-3 rows at the mouth; annulus and operculum not seen; exostome teeth linear-triangular, on the front surface with prominent thick cell boundaries, finely roughened below, papillose above, not trabeculate at back; endostome with a very low basal membrane, segments linear, papillose, ± keeled, not or narrowly perforate, cilia none. Spores spherical, papillose, 14-22 µm diam. Calyptrae not seen.
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Discussion
1. Meteorium deppei (Müll. Hal.) Mitt., J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 12: 441. 1869; Neckera deppei Homsch. ex Müll. Hal., Syn. Musc. Frond. 2: 136. 1850; Pilotrichella deppei (Midi. Hal.) Besch., Mém. Soc. Sci. Nat. Cherbourg 16: 224. 1872; Papillaria deppei (Müll. Hal.) A. Jaeger, Ber. Thãtigk. St. Gallischen Naturwiss. Ges. 1875-76: 264. 1877. Plate 103, figures 1-9 Anomodon flexilis Hampe, Linnaea 12: 350. 1838; Pi-lotrichum flexile (Hampe) Hampe ex Müll. Hal., Syn. Muse. Frond. 2: 138. 1850; Leskea flexilis (Hampe) Homsch. ex Müll. Hal., Syn. Musc. Frond. 2: 138. 1850, comb, illeg., non Hedw., Sp. Musc. Frond. 234. 1801 [= Pilotrichella flexilis (Hedw.) Àngstr.]; Papillaria flexilis (Hampe) A. Jaeger, Ber. Thatigk. St. Gallischen Naturwiss. Ges. 1875-76: 268. 1877; Meteorium flexile (Hampe) Spessard, Monogr. Gen. Meteorium Mexico 108. 1980, comb, illeg., non (Hedw.) Mitt., J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 12: 438. 1869 [= Pilotrichella flexilis (Hedw.) Angstr.]. Antitrichia cuspidata Nees, Linnaea 19: 681. 1847, non Meteorium cuspidatum S. Okamura, Bot. Mag. (Tokyo) 25: 143. 1911. Neckera sinuata Müll. Hal., Syn. Muse. Frond. 2: 139. 1850; Pilotrichum sinuatum (Müll. Hal.) Hampe, Linnaea 25: 362. 1853; Meteorium sinuatum (Müll. Hal.) Mitt., J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 12: 446. 1869; Pilotrichella sinuata (Müll. Hal.) Besch., Mém. Soc. Sci. Nat. Cherbourg 16: 226. 1872; Papillaria sinuata (Müll. Hal.) Paris, Index Bryol. 909. 1896. Meteorium illecebrum Sull., Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 5: 285. 1861; Neckera illecebra Müll. Hal., Syn. Musc. Frond. 2: 137. 1850, nom. illeg.-, Pilotrichella illecebra (Sull.) Besch., Mém. Soc. Sci. Nat. Cherbourg 16: 225. 1872; Papillaria illecebra (Sull.) Broth., Bih. Kongl. Svenska Vetensk.-Akad. Handl. 21, Afd. 3(3): 47. 1895, (Sull.) Paris, Index Bryol. 905. 1896, comb, superfl.; Pilotrichum illecebrum (Sull.) Hampe ex Paris, Index Bryol. 905. 1896, nom. inval. in syn. Monoschisma viride Duby, Mém. Soc. Phys. Hist. Nat. Genève 19: 294. 1867; Neckera dubyana Hampe, Verh. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien 19: 509. 1869, non Neckera viridis Müll. Hal., Syn. Musc. Frond. 2: 125. 1850 [= Orthostichella pentasticha (Brid.) W. R. Buck]; Pilotrichella dubyana (Hampe) Besch., Mém. Soc. Sci. Nat. Cherbourg 16: 224. 1872, comb, illeg.; Papillaria dubyana (Hampe) A. Jaeger, Ber. Thatigk. St. Gallischen Naturwiss. Ges. 1875-76: 264. 1877, comb, illeg. Discussion. Meteorium deppei is very polymorphous. It is characterized by relatively robust plants with hairpointed leaves. The cells are elongate throughout the leaf and mostly unipapillose. However, within this definition a myriad of forms is possible. Plants may have ± slender elongate branches with lanceolate, gradually acuminate leaves (and then called Papillaria deppei s.str.), oblong-lanceolate, ± abruptly acuminate leaves (and then called P. dubyana), or oblong-ovate, abruptly acuminate, plicate leaves (and then most often called Meteorium illecebrum). All of these forms may be found on a single plant! The more turgid forms (i.e., M. illecebrum) seem to be those growing in high light exposures, whereas the laxer plants are those in shaded habitats. Probably the most confusing form is one that approaches M. pseudoteres in aspect. The branch and stem leaves are similar, the leaves are deeply concave, only somewhat plicate, and abruptly hairpointed. However, this seems to be one of the forms adapted to low humidity and high light. It may be separated from M. pseudoteres by the often undulate leaf base and a distinct but small area of subquadrate cells directly above the leaf decurrencies. Additionally, the leaves are usually somewhat smaller (less than 2.75 mm, excluding the acumen) and the laminal cells mostly have the lumina wider than the walls. I have been unable to track down a specimen of Pterigynandrum illecebrum Brid. [Muscol. Recent. Suppl. 4: 131. 1819 = Papillaria nigrescens var. illecebra (Brid.) Renauld & Cardot, Bull. Soc. Roy. Bot. Belgique 32(1): 179. 1894]. It does not appear to be in Bridel’s herbarium at Berlin. From the description (“praecedenti [P. nigrescens] . . . grandior”) it may well be Meteorium deppei. It also seems a strong coincidence that the epithet is the same as that used by Müller (and Sullivant) for the species. However, the type was collected in Hispaniola by Nectoux in 1788, and is thus heterotypic from Meteorium illecebrum Sull, and the Sullivant name blocks Bridel’s from usage in Meteorium.
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Distribution
Range. Mexico and throughout Central America, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, northern Argentina, southern Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago; Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic), Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, Martinique; growing on branches or less often trunks of trees and shrubs, in mesic to humid forests, at 800-2000 m.
Mexico North America| Central America| Venezuela South America| Colombia South America| Ecuador South America| Peru South America| Bolivia South America| Brazil South America| Argentina South America| Trinidad and Tobago South America| Cuba South America| Jamaica South America| Haiti South America| Dominican Republic South America| Puerto Rico South America| Guadeloupe South America| Martinique South America|