Anastrophyllum papillosum J.J.Engel & Braggins
Anastrophyllum papillosum J.J.Engel & Braggins, J. Bryol. 20: 381. f. 3. 1998.
Holotype: New Zealand, North Is., Wellington Prov., Tongariro Natl. Park, Soda Springs, Mangatepopo Stream, NE of Whakapapa Village, 1350 m, Braggins 97/106B (F); isotypes: (AK, CHR 558817).
Plants stiff, wiry, erect, deep reddish pigmented, minute, to 10 mm high, 800 µm wide. Branching sparse, the branches nearly exclusively lateral-intercalary, from ventral end of leaf axil; Frullania -type branches rare. Stems castaneous, the cortical cells not or weakly differentiated, brownish, in 1–2 layers of very thick-walled cells; medullary cells brownish, firm, the inner core of cells somewhat larger. Rhizoids few, in isolated patches in median and basal sectors of stem, nowhere dense, scattered. Leaves rigid and firmly attached, approximate to loosely imbricate (distant to contiguous on weaker shoots), stiffly obliquely to widely spreading to ± squarrose, weakly dorsally assurgent, the insertion oblique in ventral half, transverse in dorsal half; leaves narrowly ovate to elliptic-ovate, slightly to clearly longer than broad, strongly concave to loosely canaliculate-folded, 200–220 µm wide × 270–280 µm long, bifid to (0.35)0.4–0.45; lobes inflexed, acute, subequal or the dorsal often somewhat smaller (often a bit narrower than but only occasionally shorter than the ventral), the summit bluntly rounded (then without a uniseriate row of cells) or angled (the uniseriate row then terminating in a single cell or, occasionally, a uniseriate row of 2 cells, the tip then subapiculate), the sinus acute; leaf margins often with the outer row of cells bleached out, the margins of lobe and distal half of lamina crenulate by the dilated, bluntly projecting, anticlinal walls of the marginal cells, the margins in basal half of lamina smooth or with only feebly projecting septa; dorsal margin not decurrent, at times with a stalked slime papilla or blunt tooth at base. Cells of leaf markedly thick-walled, with bulging trigones, intermediate thickenings absent, the median leaf cells 13–21 µm wide and long; basal cells typically not or at most moderately elongated (1–1.7:1), rarely ca. 2.5:1, in ± longitudinal rows; surface closely papillose on lobes, the lamina closely striate-papillose. Oil-bodies (2)3–5(6) per median and marginal cells of lobe, the basal cells of lamina (2)3–6(7) per cell, ± glistening, opaque, finely granular, the spherules minute and non-protuberant, the oil-bodies spherical and 2.9 µm in diam. to elliptic and 2.9 × 3.9–4.9 µm, sporadically linear and 2 × 4.9 µm. Underleaves present (but apparently disappearing in older shoot sectors), consisting of a single cell or a uniseriate filament of up to 4 moderately to very thick-walled cells, often terminating in a slime papilla, the ventral merophyte 1 cell wide. Asexual reproduction lacking.
Dioecious. Androecia on main shoots terminal, but becoming intercalary with age, with up to 4 ♂ sectors per shoot, the androecia about as wide as vegetative sectors, with up to 5 pairs of bracts; bracts ventricose-cucullate, 2-lobed to ca. 0.35, the lobes broad acute, the tips angular to (often) bluntly rounded, the dorsal margin of lamina not dilated, entire; antheridia 1 per bract, the stalk short, uniseriate; paraphyllia not seen. Gynoecia on main shoots, without subfloral innovations; innermost bracts much larger than both leaves and bracts below, straight, not falcate, approximate to loosely imbricate, deeply concave, ± symmetrically bifid to ca. 0.35(0.5), the lobe tips bluntly rounded, occasionally angular, sporadically apiculate; lamina margins entire; bracteole lacking. Perianth narrowly elliptic to oblong, tapering to the mouth, rather shallowly plicate in distal ca. 0.25–0.35; mouth bleached, crenate-subciliate by feebly to wholly projecting, evenly thick-walled cells, the longest mouth ornamentation consisting of a uniseriate row of 3 moderately elongated cells; cells immediately below mouth (bleached sector) typically short-rectangular to occasionally elongate, exceptionally somewhat irregular in shape, the walls evenly thickened, the cells of the perianth proper similar to those of the leaves.
Seta elevating capsule well above perianth, the seta seen only in collapsed state. Capsule irregularly dehiscing into 5 valves, the longest only 415 µm long, the walls semi-collapsed (the cross section data not available); outermost layer of cells with radial walls with red-brown, rather close, nodule-like to short and blunt spine-like thickenings; innermost layer of cells irregularly long-rectangular, the walls with semiannular bands common, for the most part complete, rarely forked.
Spores and elaters not seen.
Distribution and Ecology : Endemic to New Zealand: South Island (870 m), North Island (1350 m).
In the South Island known only from a mosaic of scrub and grassy areas near the Temple Basin ski area (Arthur’s Pass Natl. Park) and on a rock wall near a waterfalls in the upper reaches of a Podocarpus forest just below Wakefield Falls (east-facing slope of Mt. Wakefield, Mt. Cook Natl. Park, 870 m). The type locality (North Island) is an area in the alpine zone with low fellfield vegetation. At this station plants occurred in a humus mat over rock of steeply sloping, south-facing, irregular cliffs associated with waterfalls, and grew vertically, with the stem tips emergent from the dense mat of Temnoma quadripartitum; also present are occasional stems of Triandrophyllum subtrifidum, Lepidozia laevifolia and Pachyschistochila sp. Small fronds of the fern Hymenophyllum multifidum are present.
Comments : The species is related to Anastrophyllum novazelandiae, but differs from that species by the sparse branching, which is only lateral-intercalary (Fig. 149: 3); the strongly striate-papillose surface (Fig. 149: 7–9) vs. smooth in A. novazelandiae; and the not or hardly elongated basal lamina cells, which are usually 1–1.7:1 and only rarely ca. 2:1. Moreover, the projecting septa of the marginal cells are only feebly or not at all present in the basal half of the leaf lamina, whereas in A. novazelandiae, these protruding walls are present throughout the leaf margin (Schuster, 1966c, fig. 4: 9). Oil-bodies are small and glistening as in A. novazelandiae, but differ in being finely granular (Fig. 149: 11) and with a similar number in all lobe cells. In A. novazelandiae the oil-bodies are nearly homogeneous, only 0–1 per marginal cell, but with 4–8 in intramarginal lobe cells.
Confusion may arise from differentiating this species from populations of Andrewsianthus cuspidatus that only occasionally become flagelliform at the shoot tips; for comments see under that species.
