|
BFNA Title: Chonecoleaceae |
|
CHONECOLEACEAE Schuster ex Grolle
Plants
forming thin mats; branches from axils of leaves; without flagella.
Leaves alternate, succubous, plane, bilobed, entire;
underleaves minute or absent, unlobed. Rhizoids scattered over ventral
stem. Specialized asexual reproduction by caducous
perianths. Gynoecium terminal on an ordinary leafy branch. Perianth
without subfloral branches, well developed, campanulate,
mouth wide, weakly plicate near mouth, smooth below, perigynium absent. Genera 1, species 2 (1 genus, 1
species in the flora): North America (Florida); South America. 1. CHONECOLEA Grolle, Rev. Bryol. Lichénol.
25: 294. 1965 * Greek chonos, funnel, and coleus,
sheath, alluding to shape of perianth Plants green, with no secondary
pigmentation, branching profusely; stems lacking internal differentiation;
rhizoids numerous. Leaves as long
as wide, bilobed about 1/3, lobes more or less equal in size; oil-bodies
present in all leaf cells. Underleaves
(when present) awl-shaped. Sexual
condition monoicous; male branches lateral, each bract containing a
single large antheridium, antheridial stalk
uniseriate. Gynoecia terminal,
bracts not or barely differentiated from leaves,
bracteole absent. Sporophyte seta
elongate, differentiated internally, 8 cells in outer row, surrounding 4
inner cells, seta not articulate; capsule spherical, valves straight. Elaters with 1 spiral. Spores minutely reticulate. Species
2 (1 in the flora): North America (Florida); South America; Australia
(possibly introduced). 1. Chonecolea doellingeri (Nees)
Grolle, Revue Bryol. et Lichénol. 25: 295. 1956
(1957) Jungermannia
doellingeri Nees, Syn. Hepat., 104. 1844 Plants
minute, in dense patches. Shoots 0.4--0.8 mm wide. Leaves contiguous
to barely imbricate, about as wide as long, lobes broadly triangular; margins
entire to crenate; leaf cells thin-walled, lacking trigones and intermediate
thickenings; oil-bodies 20--30 per cell in mid-leaf, colorless, single. Underleaves
best developed near apex of stem, often absent. Androecia with male
bracts unequally bilobed, somewhat conduplicate,
concave at base and loosely imbricate, occurring in 2-6 pairs. Perianths
exserted, bell-shaped, smooth, with 4--5 obtuse,
rounded keels near an open truncate apex. Shaded
trunks of palm trees in low moist forests, often occurring with the moss Octoblepharum albidum
along Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains of Florida, 0--20 m; South America
Australia (possibly introduced). When
sterile and without oil-bodies, Chonecolea
is practically inseparable from Cylindrocolea rhizantha (Mont.)
R. M. Schust. of
the Cephaloziellaceae. Mature fertile plants of
each species can be separated on the basis of the spore markings. The spores
of Chonecolea are reticulate while those of Cylindrocolea rhizantha
are smooth. Fresh sterile plants of Chonecolea
have 20--30 minute oil bodies per midleaf cell, whereas Cylindrocolea
rhizantha has 4--8 round, finely papillose oil
bodies per midleaf cells. SELECTED REFERENCES Schuster, R. M. 1980. Chonecolea. In R. M. Schuster. 1966--1993.
Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America East of the Hundredth Meridian.
New York. 4: 321--325. |
|
|
