Lepidozia laevifolia (Hook.f. & Taylor) Gottsche, Lindenb. & Nees
Lepidozia minuta Colenso, Trans. & Proc. New Zealand Inst. 18: 245. 1886, non L. minuta Steph., Sp. Hepat. 3: 603. 1909.
Type: New Zealand, Waipawa Co., near Norsewood, 1885, Colenso a. 1419 (BM!, G – absens, WELT!).
Lepidozia retrusa Colenso, Trans. & Proc. New Zealand Inst. 22: 455. 1890 (1889).
Type: New Zealand, Waipawa Co., S of Dannevirke, 1889, Colenso a. 1515 (BM! – c. sporo., G – absens, WELT! – c. per.).
Lepidozia papillata Steph., Sp. Hepat. 3: 595. 1909.
Type: Auckland Is., Hooker (G!, “sub Lepid. dispar ”).
Lepidozia asperifolia Steph., Sp. Hepat. 3: 596. 1909.
Type: New Zealand, South Is. (non vidi).
[Fig. 34: 6, oil-bodies, p. 220; Figs. 37, 38]
Plants closely prostrate, flexuous, with spreading branches, green, nitid when dry, the shoots small, to 1 cm wide, including branches; exceptionally luxuriant phases to 2.5 cm long × 0.9 cm wide. Branching nearly exclusively of Frullania type, rather short, normally irregularly and distantly pinnate, ± regularly pinnate in well-developed plants, the primary (and secondary) branches sometimes becoming whip-like, flagelliform and microphyllous; secondary branches occasional; branch half-leaf subsymmetrical, cordate, 2-lobed to ca. 0.25; first branch underleaf (1)2–4-lobed, inserted on ventral side of branch base to the ventral-lateral side of junction of main axis and branch, in both cases the first branch underleaf aligned with underleaves of branch. Ventral-intercalary branching occasional, leafy, at times becoming leading shoots. Stems flexuous, the cortical cells in 1 layer of thick-walled cells somewhat larger than the thick-walled medullary cells. Leaves when dry deeply cup-shaped, with the tips of the lobes incurved and not visible in dorsal view; leaves when moist rigid, distinctly concave, contiguous, with much of stem visible in dorsal view, 0.5–0.65 mm long at longest point, 0.5–0.7 mm wide at widest point, spreading, the insertion distinctly incubous; leaves variable, subsymmetric to distinctly asymmetric, subequally 4(6)-lobed, sometimes with a ± shallow dorsal sinus, the leaves divided to ca. 0.4–0.65 (median sinus), the distance from dorsal sinus base to insertion ± equal to or much greater than that from ventral sinus to insertion. Lobes broadly to narrowly acute, sometimes short-apiculate, the lobe margins entire to somewhat sinuate to occasionally 1–2-dentate, terminating in a single cell or a uniseriate row of 2–3 non-elongated, thick-walled cells; dorsal lobe 5–10 cells wide at the base (at times 4 cells wide in minute phases). Disc subsymmetric to asymmetric and then obliquely truncate, 12–18 cells high at dorsal sinus, 4–9 cells high at ventral sinus; dorsal margin ampliate, cordate to auriculate at the insertion (rarely decurrent), entire to sinuate, sometimes irregularly crenulate to dentate; ventral margin shorter than the dorsal, ± cordate at the insertion, entire or sometimes with an accessory lobe. Cells evenly thick-walled, occasionally with small trigones, the cells of median portion of disc 16–25(28) µm wide × 19–32 µm long, ± longitudinally elongated, typically sharply differentiated from the small and isodiametric (8–10 µm) cells of the lobes and ampliate sector of the disc; marginal cells of disc and lobes lacking a thickened outer wall; surface coarsely and closely papillose on lobes and ampliate sector, the disc closely striate-papillose. Oil-bodies hyaline, 2–4(5) per cell at base of dorsal pair of lobes (and also midleaf), 2–4(5) at leaf base but larger there, botryoidal, irregularly ellipsoidal, 4–5 × 7 µm to 4–6 × 10–10.5 µm, or spherical and 4–5.5 µm in diam. Underleaves inserted on 6–8 rows of stem cells, spreading, short, broader than high, symmetrically 4-fid to ca. 0.3–0.45 (median sinus), the lobes plane, entire, acute to acuminate, terminating in a single cell or a uniseriate row of 2–4 cells; disc 7–8 cells high at median sinus, cordate at the insertion, the margins plane, entire. Fungal partner an ascomycete.
Plants dioecious. Androecia on inconspicuous, short, determinate, tightly spicate, sometimes cernuous ventral-intercalary branches from main shoot or terminal on long-flagelliform primary branches; bracts ventricose-cucullate, 2-lobed to ca. 0.3–0.4, the lobes acute to apiculate; antheridial stalk biseriate. Gynoecia on abbreviated ventral-intercalary branches issuing from main stem; bracts of innermost series deeply concave, suborbicular to broadly ovate to suboblate; apices with 4 small teeth hardly differentiated from the otherwise crenate-denticulate apex or with (2)4 short, rather irregular lobes, the lobes finely and sparingly crenulate; lamina margin bordered by cells of variable shape, the apical or free end of marginal cells variously divergent and forming a short projection or a tooth, the margin irregularly crenate-denticulate to the base; bracteole similar in size and form. Perianth long and prominent, slenderly cylindrical-fusiform, slightly curved, terete below, obscurely trigonous above, distinctly and deeply 3-plicate toward mouth, the perianth gradually narrowing toward the strongly contracted, shallowly 3-lobed mouth; mouth cells rather thick-walled, at the apical end laterally free for varying lengths, the mouth thus crenate-denticulate.
Seta with 8 rows of outer cells surrounding an inner core of 18 much smaller cells. Capsule wall 30–35 µm thick, of 3–4 or 4–5 layers; outer layer of cells with two-phase development, the longitudinal walls with sinuous, sheet-like thickenings alternating with those that are devoid of thickenings (or are rarely locally thickened), the transverse walls usually devoid of thickenings or sporadically have an isolated nodule; innermost layer of cells ± tiered, narrowly rectangular, with nodule-like to spine-like thickenings common, with semiannular bands weakly developed, only occasionally present, often incomplete, pale.
Spores 11.5–13.4 µm in diam., spore wall light brown, with dense, rather coarse, sharply defined, rather broad papillae and simple or furcate vermiculate markings. Elaters ± rigid to feebly tortuous, 9.6–10.1 µm wide, only slightly tapering toward tips, bispiral to tips, the spirals 3.4–3.8 µm wide.
Key to the varieties of L. laevifolia
Comments : Small, poorly developed plants of Lepidozia laevifolia and L. pumila may be difficult to distinguish satisfactorily. Both species can have distinctly concave leaves with the lobes incurved and hidden when viewed in dorsal aspect. Well-developed leaves should always be selected for examination, but a number of leaves should also be examined to determine the range of variation. The leaves of L. laevifolia are nearly always coarsely papillose (Fig. 37: 8–10). Distinctly papillose leaves may vary in the number of papillae per cell: some populations have very coarse papillae that number ca. 7–8 or 12–15 per cell (Fig. 37: 8). Other populations are less coarsely papillose, with ca. 30 papillae per cell. The dorsal leaf margin in L. laevifolia is usually ampliate and distinctly cordate at the insertion, the margins of the disc and lobes are sinuate, and the cells of the ampliate portion are small and abruptly differentiated from the cells of the disc. Typically, in L. pumila the surface is smooth, and the dorsal leaf margin is straight and abruptly cordate at the base (Fig. 42: 1, 4, 5); the leaf cells appear large in proportion to the size of the leaf, giving the leaf a “cellular” appearance. Another useful character in distinguishing L. pumila from L. laevifolia is the presence in the former species of a thickened outer wall of at least some of the marginal cells of disc and lobes (Fig. 42: 6, 8).
The species is separable into three varieties, as follows:
