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BFNA Title: Taxiphyllum |
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Taxiphyllum -
Hypnaceae XX.
TAXIPHYLLUM Fleischer, Musci
Fl. Buitenzorg 4: 1434. 1922 * Greek, tax,
arrangement and phyll, leaf Robert R.
Ireland Plagiothecium subg. Taxiphyllum (M.
Fleischer) A. J. Grout; Irelandia
Buck Plants medium- to large-sized, in thin
to dense mats, complanate-foliate, sometimes julaceous or subjulaceous,
glossy, light- to dark-green or yellow-green.
Stems creeping, simple or sparingly and irregularly branched,
cortical cells small, thick-walled, central strand sometimes present;
rhizoids smooth, in clusters below leaf insertions usually on ventral surface
of stems; axillary hairs with 1--2(--3) short brown basal cells and a single
elongate apical cell; pseudoparaphyllia large to small, foliose. Stem and branch leaves similar,
stiff to flaccid, crowded and imbricate to distant, erect to wide-spreading
or squarrose, often complanate, rarely secund at the tips, smooth or
occasionally plicate, plane to concave, symmetric or nearly so, nondecurrent,
ovate, ovate-lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate, oblong-ovate or linear-oblong, acute
to subobtuse, sometimes acuminate; margins plane or recurved, serrate to
serrulate above leaf middle, serrulate to entire below; costa short and
double, sometimes lacking; cells moderately thick-walled, linear-flexuose,
rhomboidal near leaf apex, smooth or prorate at distal ends on abaxial leaf
surface, with walls not pitted; alar regions distinctly differentiated with 1
to several rows of quadrate to rectangular cells, or undifferentiated or
nearly so. Specialized asexual
reproduction lacking. Sexual
condition dioicous or rarely synoicous, usually sterile. Perigonia and perichaetia at base
of stems and branches, perigonial bracts small, ovate, perichaetial bracts
lanceolate to ovate, slenderly acuminate, ± spreading from an erect base,
margins plane. Seta smooth,
elongate, straight or somewhat flexuose, dark red to brown. Capsule inclined to cernuous,
straight to subarcuate, yellowish brown to reddish brown, smooth,
oblong-ovoid, somewhat contracted below mouth and wrinkled at neck when dry; opercula
obliquely rostrate, often shorter than urn; annulus present, persistent, of 2
rows of cells; peristome cross-striolate below, papillose distally, bordered,
trabeculate; endostome with a high to low basal membrane, keeled segments and
cilia shorter than or approximately the same length as the segments, in
groups of 1--3. Calyptra cucullate, smooth, naked. Spores globose to ovoid, smooth to
minutely papillose, 7--28 µm. Species10--15 (4 in the flora): terrestrial
habitats, primarily on calcareous substrates, temperate, subtropical or
tropical regions; North, Central and South America, West Indies, Europe,
Asia, Africa, Australia. SELECTED REFERENCES
Crum, H. A. and L. E. Anderson.
1981. Mosses of Eastern North
America. Vol. 2. New York.
Ireland, R. R. 1982. Moss Flora of the Maritime Provinces. National Museums of Canada, Natl. Mus. Nat.
Sciences, Publs. in Botany, No. 13. Ottawa.
Ireland, R. R. 1969. A taxonomic revision of the genus Plagiothecium for North America, north
of Mexico. National Museums of Canada, Natl. Mus. Nat. Sciences, Publs.in
Botany 1: 1--118. Ireland, R. R. 1986.
Synopsis of the genus Taxiphyllum
for North America. Lindbergia 12:
153--157. Iwatsuki, Z. 1963.
Bryological Miscellanies XII.
Preliminary notes on the Japanese species of Taxiphyllum and its related genera. J. Hattori Bot. Lab. 26: 63--69. 1. Plants julaceous to subjulaceous; leaves
acuminate; alar cells noticeably differentiated, quadrate to
short-rectangular in 1--several rows and extending 5--15 cells up the margins........... l. Taxiphyllum cuspidifolium 1. Plants
complanate-foliate; leaves acute to acuminate, rarely subobtuse; alar cells
not differentiated or quadrate to short-rectangular in 1--several rows and
extending 1--9 cells up the margins. 2. Leaves close, appressed-imbricate, never
squarrose; margins usually plane or rarely recurved at base; quadrate alar
cells numerous, in 1--several rows and extending 3--9 cells up the margins 3. Taxiphyllum
deplanatum 2. Leaves usually remote or if imbricate not
appressed, often squarrose; margins usually recurved to leaf middle; quadrate
alar cells sparse, in 1--3 rows and extending 1--5 cells up the margins. 3. Leaves broadly
ovate-lanceolate, 0.8--1.6 mm wide; apices often acuminate and twisted; margins
plane, rarely recurved; leaf cells smooth...... 2.
Taxiphyllum alternans 3. Leaves narrowly oblong-lanceolate or
ovate-lanceolate, 0.3--0.6 mm wide; apices acute to acuminate, rarely subobtuse,
not twisted; margins usually narrowly and indistinctly recurved to leaf
middle; leaf cells sometimes dorsally prorate above 4. Taxiphyllum taxirameum l. Taxiphyllum cuspidifolium (Cardot) Z. Iwatsuki, J. Hattori Bot. Lab. 28: 220. 1965 Isopterygium cuspidifolium Cardot, Bull.
Soc. Bot. Genève 4, sér. 2: 387. 1912 Plagiothecium mariannae A. J. Grout; Taxiphyllum
mariannae (A. J. Grout)
Schornherst; Plants in thin mats, dark- to
yellowish-green, with an oily sheen when wet.
Stems to 3 cm, 1--3 mm wide, prostrate, often radiculose
ventrally. Leaves loosely
imbricate, usually concave, smooth, symmetric, 1.0--2.5 × 0.5--1 mm, ovate to
broadly ovate-lanceolate, acuminate or filiform-acuminate, often twisted at
apex, margins plane, serrulate to serrate beyond leaf middle, serrulate to
entire proximally; costa short and double, one branch extending 1/3--1/2
length of leaf, rarely lacking; cells smooth; median cells 75--120 × 7--12
µm; alar cells 12--48 × 10--22 µm, quadrate to rectangular, in 2--several
rows with 5--12 cells in marginal row.
Sexual condition dioicous.
Perichaetia large, numerous, bracts lanceolate to
ovate-lanceolate, acuminate to sharply acuminate. Perigonia and sporophytes unknown
in North America. Calcareous soil and rock, rarely over exposed tree
roots; 0--300 m; Ala., Fla., Tenn.; Asia. Taxiphyllum cuspidifolium is
distinguished by its julaceous to subjulaceous plants with an oily sheen when
wet and by its loosely imbricate, erect-spreading, concave leaves with plane
margins and acuminate to filiform-acuminate apices. It is rare in North America where it is
known from only one locality in Alabama (Bibb Co.), four in Florida (Alachua,
Citrus, Jackson and Walton counties) and two in Tennessee (Anderson and
Montgomery counties). It has often
been confused with Plagiothecium cavifolium (Bridel) Z. Iwatsuki, which
has a more northern distribution. For
microscopic differences between the genera Plagiothecium and Taxiphyllum
see the discussion under T. alternans. 2. Taxiphyllum alternans (Cardot) Z. Iwatsuki, J. Hattori Bot. Lab. 26: 67. 1963 Isopterygium alternans Cardot, Beih.
Bot. Centralbl. 17: 37. 1904 Plants in thin mats, light- to
yellowish-green or yellowish brown, glossy.
Stems to 6 cm, 3--5 mm wide,
prostrate, naked or sometimes radiculose ventrally. Leaves distant, becoming close and
loosely imbricate at stem apices, spreading wet or dry, complanate, smooth,
symmetric or asymmetric, 1.5--3.5 × 0.8--1.6 mm, ovate to broadly
ovate-lanceolate, acuminate to filiform-acuminate, frequently twisted at
apex, margins plane or rarely narrowly recurved for a short distance at base,
serrulate to serrate beyond leaf middle, serrulate to entire proximally;
costa short and double, one branch often extending 1/3--1/2 length of leaf,
rarely lacking; cells smooth; median cells 84--156 × 9--12 µm; alar cells
14--43 × 14--20 µm, quadrate to long-rectangular, in 1--3 rows, seldom more,
with 2--5 cells in marginal row. Sexual
condition dioicous. Perichaetia
large, numerous, bracts lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, acuminate. Perigonia and sporophytes unknown in North America. Soil, humus, exposed tree roots, rotten wood and
logs in swamps, rarely on calcareous boulders beside streams and waterfalls;
0--500 m; Ala., Fla., La., Md., N.C., S.C.; Asia. Taxiphyllum alternans, like the
previous species, is rare in North America.
It is recognized by distant leaves that are ovate to broadly ovate-lanceolate with acuminate to
filiform-acuminate, frequently twisted apices, plane margins and with 2–5
quadrate to short-rectangular cells in the marginal rows. It occurs from only a few localities in the
southeastern United States with disjunct occurrences in Maryland (Charles and
Montgomery Counties). It too has sometimes been confused
with Plagiothecium cavifolium (Bridel) Z. Iwatsuki but all Taxiphyllum species
differ from Plagiothecium
microscopically by their nondecurrent leaves and the presence of foliose
pseudoparaphyllia. 3. Taxiphyllum deplanatum (Sullivant) M. Fleischer, Musci Fl. Buitenzorg 4: 1435. 1922 Hypnum deplanatum Sullivant in A.
Gray, Man. Bot. N.U. States 670.
1848; Isopterygium deplanantum
(Sullivant) Mitten; Plagiothecium deplanatum (Sullivant) Spruce Plants in thin to dense mats, light- to
yellow-green, glossy. Stems to
4 cm, 1--3 mm wide, complanate, radiculose ventrally. Leaves flaccid, appressed-imbricate,
somewhat concave or flat, smooth, symmetric to somewhat asymmetric, 0.9--2 ×
0.4--0.8 mm, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, rarely oblong-lanceolate or
oblong-ovate, acuminate or often abruptly narrowed to an acute or filiform
apex, margins plane or narrowly recurved for a short distance at base,
serrulate to strongly serrate beyond leaf middle, serrate to serrulate
proximally; costa very short and double or lacking; cells smooth; median
cells 47--136 × 7--12 µm; alar cells 12--27 × 9--17 µm, quadrate to
short-rectangular, in 1--several rows with 3--8 cells in the marginal
row. Sexual condition dioicous. Perigonia unknown. Perichaetia small, numerous, the
bracts lanceolatae to ovate-lanceolate, acuminate. Seta yellowish brown to red,
flexuose, 0.7--1 cm. Capsule
yellowish brown to light brown, cernuous, 0.8--1.5 × 0.3--0.5 mm, oblong or
ovoid, straight or arcuate, when dry contracted below mouth and tapered to a
wrinkled neck; opercula obliquely rostrate, 0.3--0.5 mm. Spores 11--13 µm. Capsules extremely rare but evidently mature in
fall. Shaded siliceous or calcareous
soil and rock, often on bases of trees, exposed tree roots, and rotten logs,
sometimes in cedar swamps; 60--2700 m; Man., N.B., Ont., Que., Sask.; Ariz.,
Ark., Conn., D.C., Ga., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., Md., Mass.(Mishler
& Miller 1983), Mich., Minn., Mo., Nebr., N.H., N.J., N.Mex., N.Y., N.C.,
Ohio, Pa., S.Dak., Tenn., Vt., W.Va., Va., Wis.; Mexico; Central America
(Honduras). This species is widespread in northeastern North
America with disjunct populations in Saskatchewan, Quebec, New Brunswick,
Arizona and New Mexico. Taxiphyllum deplanatum has often been confused with T. taxirameum but the
two are easily distinguished superficially and microscopically. The flaccid, appressed-imbricate
leaves characteristic of T. deplanatum
will easily separate the species from T.
taxirameum with its rigid, usually
distant, wide-spreading to squarrose leaves.
The alar regions of T. deplanatum are well differentiated
with quadrate to short-rectangular cells, 3--8 in the marginal rows, which is
in striking contrast to the poorly differentiated alar regions of T. taxirameum
that have only a few rectangular cells on the margins. Taxiphyllum deplanatum
has been reported for the Gulf Coast region, based on a Louisiana specimen
(R. R. Ireland 1969), however, it was later re-examined and found to be a
misidentified specimen of T. taxirameum as W. R. Reese (1984)
noted. 4. Taxiphyllum taxirameum (Mitten) M. Fleischer, Musci Fl. Buitenzorg 4: 1435. 1922 Stereodon taxirameus Mitten, J. Proc.
Linn. Soc. Bot. Suppl. 1: 105. 1859; Isopterygium
geophilum (Austin) A. Jaeger; I. taxirameum
(Mitten) A. Jaeger; Plagiothecium geophilum (Austin) Grout; Rhynchostegium geophilum Austin; Taxiphyllum geophilum (Austin) Fleischer Plants in thin to dense mats, dark- to
yellow-green, glossy. Stems to
6 cm, 2--4 mm wide, prostrate, rarely radiculose ventrally. Leaves rigid, usually distant,
wide-spreading to squarrose, flat or somewhat concave, smooth or plicate,
symmetric or nearly so, 1--2 × 0.3--0.6 mm, ovate- or oblong-lanceolate,
rarely narrowly ovate, acuminate or abruptly narrowed to an acute or rarely
subobtuse apex, margins very narrowly recurved almost to apex, sometimes
plane, serrulate to serrate throughout; costa lacking or short and double;
cells smooth or prorate at distal ends on abaxial leaf surface; median cells
66--120 × 3--7 µm; alar cells 37--63 × 5--9 µm, long- to short-rectangular or
rarely quadrate, in 1--3 rows with 1--5 cells in the marginal rows. Sexual condition dioicous. Perigonia small, bracts ovate,
acute; Perichaetia small, bracts lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, acuminate. Seta reddish brown, flexuose,
0.7--1.2 cm. Capsule reddish
brown, cernuous, 1--1.5 mm, oblong-ovoid, arcuate, when dry slightly
contracted below mouth and wrinkled at neck; opercula obliquely
long-rostrate, 0.5--1 mm. Spores
11--13 µm. In shade, siliceous or calcareous soil and rock;
40--1500 m; Ala., Ariz., Ark., Del., D.C., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Iowa,
Kans., Ky., La., Md., Miss., Mo., N.J., N.Mex., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Okla., Pa.,
S.C., Tenn., Tex., Va., W.Va.; Mexico; West Indies; Central and South
America; Asia; East Indies. These plants are typically glossy,
complanate-foliate with the leaves stiff, distant, seldom overlapping,
wide-spreading to squarrose, ovate-lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate with acute
to subobtuse apices, narrowly recurved margins nearly to apex and poorly
differentiated alar cells in 1--3 rows with 1--5 short-rectangular cells in
the marginal rows. This is a polymorphic species common in the southeastern
and south-central United States, particularly the Ozark Mountain region. It has often been confused with the more
northern T. deplanatum; for
distinctions see the discussion under that species. Taxiphyllum taxirameum
is the most common species of Taxiphyllum
in Latin America and it is especially prevalent in parts of Mexico and the
West Indies. OTHER REFERENCES
Ireland, R. R.
1994. Taxiphyllum. In: A. J.
Sharp, H. Crum and P. M. Eckel(eds.), The Moss Flora of Mexico, Part
2. Orthotrichales to Polytrichales.
Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 69: 1022--1025. Mishler, B. D. & N. G. Miller. 1983.
Distributional studies of Massachusetts bryophytes. Rhodora 85:
421--432. Reese, W. D.
1984. Mosses of the Gulf
South. Baton Rouge. |
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