Kymatocalyx rhizomatica (Herzog) Gradst. & Váňa
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Authority
Gradstein, S. Robbert & Ilkiu-Borges, Anna L. 2009. Guide to the plants of Central French Guiana. Part 4. Liverworts and hornworts. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 76 (4): i-iv + 1-140.
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Family
Cephaloziellaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Description - Plants relatively robust, 1-1.2 mm wide, to 4 cm long, pale green, ascending from a stoloniform base, attentuate and flagelliform above, unbranched or occasionally dichotomous in upper 1/2 by terminal branching. Stems thick, to 0.18 mm in diameter. Leaves succubous. obliquely spreading at an angle of ca. 60°, oblong, 1.5-2 times longer than wide, slightly concave, laterally inserted, leaf-free strip on dor sal side of stem 4-6 cells wide, apex short-bifid to 1/5 of length, lea lobes rounded to obtuse, sinus rounded, leaf margins entire. Cells in midleaf short rectangular, 20-30 x 10-15 µm long, thin-walled , trigones small or lacking, cuticle smooth. Plants sterile. Gemmae lacking. Headwaters of Crique Saint Eloi, ca. 300 m, submerged in stream in moist forest {Buck 25371, NY).
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Discussion
The plants grow submerged and are more robust than typical K. rhizomatica\ leafy stems are about 4 times longer than usual and attenuate to the tips. Moreover, the leaf cells are larger, the leaf-free dorsal strip is broader, and terminal branches are occasionally pro¬duced. With their large size, broad leaf-free strip, and attenuate leafy shoots, the plants approach K. madagascariensis from the East African islands. The occurrence of terminal branching in the plants from central French Guiana is unusual and was previously unknown in the genus Kymatocalyx. Kymatocalyx rhizomatica is known only from a few collections from Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia and one each from Sumatra and Borneo. The species is a strict rheophyte and seems to have been overlooked; all neotropical collections were made in recent years, the earliest dating back to 1992 (Gradstein & Vana, 2003). In contrast, the two Asiatic collections are from the first half of the previous century. These very different collection dates may reflect the different histories of hepaticological exploration in the American and Asian tropics.