Cololejeunea
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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
Lejeuneaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Description - Plants usually small or very small, less than 1.8 mm wide, pale or opaque green, creeping, usually growing closely appressed to substrate. Branches Lejeunea-type (with collar) or Aphanolejeunea-typt (without collar). Stems usually zigzag, very thin, of 5-8 outer rows of cells and in neotropical species 1 inner row, with hyalodermis; ventral merophyte 1-2 (seldom more) cells wide. Leaf lobes distant or subimbricate, spreading, very narrowly attached to stem (by only few cells), ovate-obovate to narrowly lanceolate, sometimes reduced; leaf surface smooth, papillose or mammillose due to conically elevated cells, leaf apex rounded to acute-acuminate, margins entire to denticulate, sometimes with a hyaline border of translucent cells without chloroplasts. Cells thin-walled with or without small trigones, sometimes sigmoid, cuticle smooth, stripped or punctulate; oil bodies botryoidal or finely granular or smooth; ocelli lacking or present as a short vitta. Lobules small or large, flat, ligulate or saccate, inflated, sometimes reduced, apex without or with 1-2 teeth, hyaline papilla proximal, distal, or ental. Under-leaves absent, only rhizoids in small bundles at ventral side of stem, near each leaf base. Androecia variable, bracteoles lacking, bracts with hypostatic lobules. Gynoecia without or with 1-2 innovations, bracteoles lacking. Perianths inflated or flattened, 1-5 keeled or keels lack¬ing, perianth surface smooth or papillose. Sporophyte lejeuneoid. Vegetative reproduction by multicellular, disciform gemmae from leaf surfaces or leaf margins. Recent molecular-phylogenetic work (Ahonen, 2004; Gradstein et al., 2006) has shown that Aphanolejeunea is nested in Cololejeunea and cannot be separated at the generic level. Aphanolejeunea, the younger name of the two, therefore, is treated as a synonym.