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BFNA Title: Brotherella |
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XX. BROTHERELLA Loeske ex M. Fleischer,
Nova W. B. Schofield† Plants small to robust, carpet-forming,
creeping, glossy yellow to golden or brownish green. Stems 2--20 cm, pinnately to irregularly branched, often somewhat
complanate. Leaves erect-spreading to falcate-secund. Stem leaves ovate to broadly ovate or lanceolate, 0.5--3 mm,
ecostate, margins often recurved at basal margin, plane distally, entire
except in apex, extending to a long or short acumen, curved; laminal cells
smooth, linear-rhomboid in most of lamina, alar cells usually in a distinct
group, the most basal row elongate, often inflated, sometimes pigmented with
1--2 rows of shorter supra-alar cells.
Sexual condition dioicous,
phyllodioicous, or autoicous. Seta
elongate, smooth, red-brown, 1--2 cm. Capsule
0.5--2 mm, inclined or erect, symmetric or asymmetric, exothecial cells
not collenchymatous, peristome double, operculum short to long-rostrate. Species ca. 20 (4 in the flora): North America, Europe, Brotherella is
a problematic genus in which species are often polymorphic. Fragmentary material from other genera has
been attributed to it, thus the systematics remains in flux. Even in northwestern SELECTED REFERENCES Tan, B. C. and Y.
Jia. 1999. A preliminary revision of Chinese Sematophyllaceae: Brotherella.
J. Hattori Bot. Lab. 86: 26--33.
Schofield, W. B. 2006. Brotherella
canadensis, sp. nov.,
from the Pacific coast of 1.
Plants small, with main leafy shoots 1 mm or less in width; usually
irregularly branched; sporangia erect or suberect 4. Brotherella
roellii 1.
Plants medium-sized to robust, with main leafy shoots 1.5--2 mm wide;
branching variable; capsule inclined. 2.
Leafy shoots robust, 4--12 cm, usually forming loose wefts; leaves
erect on main shoots, shoot tips penicillate; 2. Brotherella
henonii 2.
Leafy shoots medium-sized, usually 2--4 cm, forming compact, reclining,
regularly to irregularly branched mats, leaves mainly falcate-secund,
strongly so at tips of main shoots and branches. 3.
Plants markedly complanate, pale green to yellow green; alar cells
yellowish or unpigmented 3.
Brotherella
recurvans 3.
Plants not complanate; yellow to golden green; alar cells orange or
red brown 1. Brotherella
canadensis 1. Brotherella canadensis
W. B. Schofield,
J. Hattori Bot. Lab. 100:355. 2006 Plants yellow green to golden, branching in a
single horizontal plane, forming wefts or turf. Stems reddish, ca. 4(--10) cm, branching regularly pinnate to
irregular; pseudoparaphyllia foliose to filamentous. Stem
leaves ovate-lanceolate, falcate-secund, especially at main stem and
branch tips, 1.5--1.7 x ca. 0.8 mm, tapering gradually to a toothed acumen,
margins mostly entire; inflated alar cells orange-pigmented, these forming a
single row 2--4 cells wide. Branch leaves similar, but smaller. Sexual condition dioicous(?). Seta elongate, red-brown, smooth, 1.5--2
cm. Capsule inclined, cylindric,
slightly asymmetric; operculum long-rostrate, as long as urn. Mainly peatland and forest margins, but
also humid rock faces near streams and water bodies, occasionally epiphytic,
especially near tree bases; low to moderate elevations; B.C.; Brotherella canadensis resembles Hypnum in the field, but the strong gloss and especially the
inflated colored alar cells easily separate it. From B.
henonii it is readily distinguished by its smaller plants and strongly
falcate-secund leaves, especially near shoot and branch apices. This species
is endemic to coastal Pacific North America. 2. Brotherella henonii
(Duby) M. Fleischer, Nova Guinea 12(2):120. 1914 Hypnum henonii Duby,
Flora 60: 93. 1877 Plants robust, yellowish green to yellowish brown,
in loose mats. Stems yellowish
brown, 4--6(--12) cm, pinnately to irregularly branched, shoot and branch
tips penicillate. Stem leaves ovate-lanceolate,
erect, 1.7--1.8 x ca. 0.9 mm, tapering abruptly to a long-toothed or
occasionally entire acumen. Branch
leaves narrower, alar cells with 3--4 swollen, colored, elongate
cells. Sexual condition sterile. Sporophytes unknown in the area of the
flora. Humid shaded sites near streams or cliff bases in forests; 0 m; B.C.
(Queen Charlotte Islands); Asia ( Brotherella henonii suggests an overgrown version of B. canadensis, but is paler green,
forms looser wefts, and grows in more humid shaded sites. The penicillate, rather than falcate-secund
shoot and branch tips also easily separate them. The B.C. populations are few, lack
sporophytes, and are slightly different from much of Asiatic B. henonii, but this species is
sufficiently variable to include the North American material. 3.
Brotherella recurvans (Michaux) M. Fleischer, Nova Leskea recurvans Michaux, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 311. 1803; Brotherella delicatula (James ex Sullivant)
M. Fleischer; Rhynchostegium
delicatulum James ex Sullivant Plants pale green to yellow green, strongly
glossy, subpinnately to irregularly branched, shoots decidedly complanate,
compressed to substratum, with tips falcate-secund toward the substratum,
strongly so at apices of stems and branches. Stems 2--6 cm; pseudoparaphyllia narrowly to lanceolate
filamentous. Stem leaves ovate, 1--1.5 mm, tapered to a toothed acumen, cells
mainly linear to sinuose-linear, alar cells often yellowish, the basalmost row
oblong and inflated. Branch leaves similar. Sexual condition dioicous. Seta
brownish, 1--1.5 cm, smooth. Capsule
oblong-cylindric, somewhat asymmetric, inclined; operculum short-rostrate. Mainly on logs, sometimes on humus, tree trunks, rocks,
mainly in forests; low to high elevations; Nfld., N.B., N.S., Ont., P.E.I.,
Que.; Ala., Conn., Ga., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Me., Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Mo.,
N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Pa., S.C., Tenn., Vt., Va., W. Va., Wis. Brotherella recurvans resembles Pseudotaxiphyllum elegans superficially, but is generally larger,
and the swollen alar cells and toothed apiculus readily separate it. Branches and main shoots bear leaves of
similar size and areolation, and branching tends to be irregular. 4. Brotherella roellii
(Renauld & Cardot)
M. Fleisher, Musci Fl. Buitenzorg 4: 1245.
1023 Rhaphidostegium roellii Renauld & Cardot, Bot Centralbl.
44: 423. 1890 Plants small, pale yellow-green, slender,
glossy, reclining. Stems red-brown,
little-branched or irregular branched, 0.5--5 cm, branches sometimes
flagelliform; pseudoparaphyllia narrowly lanceolate. Stem
leaves ovate-lanceolate, tapering to a narrow, toothed acumen, 0.8--1.2
cm; alar cells with 2--3 inflated red brown cells. Specialized asexual reproduction sometimes by caducous shoots or
branches. Sexual condition autoicous.
Seta red-brown, smooth, 0.5--1 cm
long. Capsule suberect, cylindric,
symmetric to somewhat asymmetric, 1--1.5 mm, operculum rostrate. Mainly on tree trunks and bases, sometimes on organic
soil, usually forest margins; low to high elevations; B.C.; Wash. In the genus, Brotherella
roellii is of smallest stature in |
