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Liverworts v1 (2008) - A Flora of the Liverworts and Hornworts of New Zealand Volume 1
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Lepicolea Dumort.

Lepicolea Dumort.

Lepicolea Dumort., Recueil Observ. Jungerm. 20. 1835.

Type: Lepicolea scolopendra (Hook.) Dumort.ex Trevis. (≡Jungermannia scolopendra Hook.)

Key to Species

1
Plants bristle-like, the distal sector of leaf lobes hyaline and setaceous; leaf lobes with uniseriate row (420)490–630 µm long, the terminal cell length:width ratio 6–13:1, the second and third cells from tip (2.8)3–11:1, the fourth cell 2–4:1; surface of uniseriate row of leaf lobes finely striate; vitta well developed
L. scolopendra (p. 99)
Plants not bristle-like, the distal sector of leaf lobes green and acuminate; leaf lobes with uniseriate row 130–215 µm long, the terminal cell length:width ratio 1–5:1, the second and third cells from tip at most 3:1, the fourth cell (when present) normally subquadrate; surface of uniseriate row of leaf lobes papillose; vitta indistinct
L. attenuata (p. 95)

Lepicolea species typically occur on trunks and more often branches of trees, and sometimes form colonies or extensive masses that, in some cases, become pendulous. The species are often abundant in exposed niches (such as at the edge or canopy of the forest or on rock walls), where illumination is good, if intermittent, and where the sun regularly alternates with atmospheric moisture, such as fog or mist. Lepicolea species are apparently efficient colonizers, and may be locally abundant in some areas, with many trees that bear scattered populations of various sizes. The species are much less frequent in shaded, protected niches, e.g., they are sparse deep within the forest.

References: Scott (1960; revision); Stewart (1978; oil-body data of regional species); Schuster (2000a).

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