Flora of New Zealand Series

Jungermannia quadrifida Mitt. in Hook.f., Bot. Antarc. Voy. 2: 128. pl. 94, f. 1. 1854.

Blepharostoma quadrifidum (Mitt.) Pearson, J. Bot. 25: 194. 1887.

Temnoma quadrifidum (Mitt.) Mitt. in Hook.f., Handb. N. Zeal. Fl. 1: 753. 1867. 

Type: New Zealand, North Is., Patea Village, Colenso 1117.

Isotachis palmatiloba E.A.Hodgs., Rev. Bryol. Lichénol. 18: 30. 1949.

Temnoma palmatilobum (E.A.Hodgs.) E.A.Hodgs. & Allison, Trans. Roy. Soc. New Zealand, Bot. 1: 146. 1962. 

Type: New Zealand, North Is., Kaimanawa Mtns., 4500 ft., Jan. 1947, Druce (“type no. 1062”) (CHR, ex herb. K. W. Allison H4928!).

[Fig. 20: 4, oil-bodies, p. 150]

Plants erect to suberect, rather lax, green to yellowish brown to dark brown, almost black, the shoots medium or (rarely) small, (0.8)1–1.5 mm wide. Branches sparing to common, particularly from older plants and from ♀ shoots, variable, in large part ventral-intercalary (less often lateral-intercalary), other branches terminal, usually of the Frullania type, sometimes of Acromastigum and Microlepidozia types. Leaves exceptionally variable in form, size and degree of dentition, remote to (near shoot apex) imbricate, transversely oriented and inserted, exceptionally vaguely incubous, suberect to obliquely spreading, trapezoidal to obdeltoid or obdeltoid-obcuneate in outline, narrow at base and gradually broadened upward, palmately quadrifid to 0.5–0.6 (0.6–0.85 in middle sinus), the leaves often bisbifid, 750–1100(1800) µm wide at lobe apices × 700–1250 µm long. Lobes lanceolate-acute to lanceolate-acuminate, (4)6–15 cells wide at base, gradually tapering, usually ending in (1)2–4(5) superposed cells that are 17–26 µm wide × 20–30(40) µm long (1.2–2.5[3.5]:1); usually edentate, but 1 or 2 lobes occasionally with 1 (rarely 2) small, short, tapering teeth situated near or above lobe bases; sinus bases not reflexed. Disc (5)9–12 cells high, occasionally on vigorous, lax plants 14–17 cells high, edentate and without development of basal accessory lobes and usually with development of few or no accessory teeth or cilia. Cells slightly to moderately, evenly thick-walled, in median sector of disc from 17–24 × 35–50 µm to 22–28 × (44)48–75 µm; surface distinctly striolate-papillose. Oil-bodies in all leaf cells except the terminal cell of leaf lobes, large and conspicuous but occupying moderate portion of cell volume, dull, very pale grey, (1)2(3) in both disc and lobe cells, distinctly granular, the spherules tiny but well defined, the oil-bodies globose to very broad-elliptic, 9.1–11.5 × 11–13.4 µm, exceptionally more narrowly elliptic and 7.2–8.2 × 11–13.4 µm, spherical ones 8.2–13 µm in diam. Underleaves very similar to leaves, somewhat narrower and more obcuneate, quadrifid or bisbifid to 0.5–0.6, the narrowly lanceolate segments usually in part entire, in part with 1–2 sharp to spinose marginal teeth.

Androecial shoots more slender than ♀ ones; androecia on main stems or elongate ventral-intercalary branches, laxly to compactly spicate; bracts similar to leaves but usually slightly smaller, transverse, less deeply and often somewhat asymmetrically quadrifid to 0.45–0.55, the lobes erect and not divergent, lanceolate, acute but not acuminate, entire-margined, the entire basal portion strongly ventricose and suberect, only the lobes suberect to widely spreading. Bracteoles smaller than underleaves and bracts, relatively shallowly (0.35–0.45) quadrilobed. Gynoecia with subinvolucral leaves and bracts gradually larger upward, progressively with margins bearing more frequent, often opposed, sharp teeth on lobes. Bracts erect, similar to leaves but larger, somewhat more freely dentate, broadly obcuneate to obdeltoid, bisbifid to 0.5–0.6, the lanceolate, long-acute to short-acuminate lobes varying from entire to sparingly toothed: the teeth 2–3(5) per lobe, the larger teeth broad-based, never aciculate, relatively short but sharp and formed of cells that are hardly differentiated from leaf cells, lying in the plane of the bracts, usually opposing. Bracteole similar to bracts. Perianth 0.5 or more emergent, the length 3–4× the width, tapering slightly from the basal third, where broadest; mouth rather wide, armed with remote to contiguous sharp teeth to short cilia (2–5, occasionally 6–8 cells long, the shorter uniseriate throughout, the longer tapering and 2–3 cells broad at base).

Capsule with nearly opaque valves, 4–5-stratose, from 35–36 µm thick (when 4-layered) to 41–46 µm thick (when 5-layered); outer layer of cells hyaline, rather large, devoid of pigmentation or localized thickenings (except near margins of valves, bordering dehiscence lines, and near or along the valve midline, where they are found with vertical bands or nodular thickenings; rarely a few cells elsewhere have sporadic thickenings along their longitudinal walls); intermediate strata each with strong vertical thickenings; innermost layer of cells usually less thick than intermediate cell layers, with numerous semiannular bands, the bands complete or subcomplete.

Spores 15–18.5 µm in diam., brownish, faintly but distinctly sharply papillate-granulate, the papillae not uniformly dispersed, the spores 2–2.5× the elater in diam. Elaters tortuous, 6.5–8 µm wide, strongly tapering on the ends, the spirals ca. 3 µm wide.

Distribution and Ecology : Endemic to New Zealand: Antipodes Islands (300 m), Stewart Island, South Island (30–1340 m), North Island (1370 m). Known from Rakiura (Tin Ra.), Fiordland (Mt. Burns), Southland (Eyre Mtns.), Canterbury (Danseys Pass, Temple Basin), Westland (Marks Flat, Otira River), Western Nelson (Pororari River, Stockton Plateau, Oparara River, Lake Peel), Taranaki (Mt. Taranaki) and Volcanic Plateau (Kaimanawa Ra., Mt. Ngauruhoe, Atiamuri) EPs.

Usually occurring on wet rock (schist, greywacke, granite), sometimes submerged in small cascading streams, often near waterfalls, or on ledges with seeping water, but sometimes on wet soil in bogs. Most commonly found in the penalpine zone (in Chionochloa rubra or C. crassiuscula tussockland or Schoenus pauciflorus sedgeland), but sometimes found under forest at lowland altitudes (e.g., Dacrydium cupressinum – Nothofagus menziesii – N. fusca forest at the Oparara and Pororari rivers). Commonly associated with Bryum blandum and Cryptochila grandiflora, but also found growing with Blindia magellanica, Breutelia pendula, Chiloscyphus austrigenus, Dicranella cardotii, Fissidens rigidulus, Hepatostolonophora paucistipula, Isotachis intortifolia, Pachyglossa tenacifolia and Triandrophyllum subtrifidum.

Comments : Plants that grow submerged are usually almost black, but those from lowland seepages may be golden brown, and these lowland plants show the greatest amount of toothing on the leaf margins. Very toothed forms may be confused with Temnoma quadripartitum, but lack the extra pair of lobes from the disc margins.