Cryptochila grandiflora (Lindenb. & Gottsche) Grolle
Jungermannia grandiflora Lindenb. & Gottsche in Gottsche, Lindenb. & Nees, Syn. Hepat. 673. 1847.
Jamesoniella grandiflora (Lindenb. & Gottsche) Jack & Steph., Hedwigia 31: 13. 1892.
Cryptochila grandiflora (Lindenb. & Gottsche) Grolle, Feddes Repert. 82: 19. 1971.
Type: Chile, Valdivia, Gay.
Jamesoniella sonderi Steph., Hedwigia 34: 48. 1895.
Type: Tasmania, (Mt. Wellington, 1350 m), Moore 48.
Jungermannia sonderi Gottsche, Linnaea 28: 550. 1856.
Lectotype (fide Grolle, 1971a): Australia, Australian Alps, F. von Mueller (L, non vidi).
Jamesoniella hectorii Berggr., New Zealand Hepat. 15. f. 11. 1898.
Lectotype (fide Grolle, 1971a): New Zealand, South Is., “in alpibus ad flumen Bealey,” Berggren 2843 (LD, non vidi).
Jamesoniella nervosa Berggr., New Zealand Hepat. 13. f. 10. 1898.
Lectotype (fide Grolle, 1971a): New Zealand, South Is., “in alpibus ad flumen Bealey,” Berggren 2839 (LD, non vidi).
[Fig. 158: 4, 5, oil-bodies, p. 724; Fig. 162]
Plants ascending, in deep, loose tufts, arising from underlying shoots with decomposed leaves (or in drier situations the plants procumbent on soil and adhering by stolons), often green, deep reddish brown to deep magenta (but never pure reddish), becoming blackish in exposed sites, the plants to 1.5 mm wide. Stems wiry, often reddish brown to blackish, the cortex moderately sharply differentiated, the epidermal layer of cells evenly thick-walled, the 2–3 subepidermal layers with moderately thickened and often deeply pigmented walls; medullary cells thin-walled, colorless. Rhizoids mostly confined to stolons, but at times also on the ventral side of prostrate normal leafy shoots. Branching exclusively ventral-intercalary, in sterile shoots mostly confined to basal portion of plant. Leaves vertically oriented when dry, concave, appressed to stem, ventrally secund, when moist obliquely divergent, subsquarrose, the basal portion sheathing the stem (in suboptimal forms the leaves plane and distinctly dorsally assurgent), the insertion weakly succubous to almost transverse, not crossing the stem midline dorsally, leaves broadly elliptic to orbicular to oblate, 1000–3000 µm wide × 930–2250 µm long, entire, the apex broadly rounded, strongly contracted to the base; dorsal margin typically erect-inflexed to distinctly involute (particularly when dry), moderately to distinctly arched, long-decurrent at base; ventral margin moderately to strongly ampliate, contracted to the base, short-decurrent; paraphyllia absent or present on dorsal side of stem between the leaves, inconspicuous, needle-like. Cells in concentrically radiating rows (especially evident in distal sector of leaves), quadrate to short-rectangular, moderately to very strongly and evenly thick-walled, particularly toward the distal margins; trigones lacking or very small and indistinct; cells of upper median portion of leaf 15–21 × 18–26 µm; median-basal cells elongated, in a distinct vitta-like field, uniformly thickened or with knob-like thickenings of the longitudinal walls; surface typically finely, delicately, rather distantly and indistinctly striolate-papillose lending a “speckled” appearance, occasionally smooth, the median-basal cells striate-papillose. Oil-bodies occupying moderate portion of cell lumen, very pale smokey grey, 2–8(10) per median leaf cell, finely to coarsely papillose, the spherules not protruding beyond membrane, the oil-bodies globose to subglobose to broadly elliptic, often somewhat irregularly so, 2.9–4.3 × 4.3–5.8 µm to 4.8–5.8 × 8.2–9.6 µm, spherical ones 3.4–3.8 µm to 5.8–8.2 µm in diam. Chloroplasts large for cell and oil-body size. Underleaves absent or vestigial, caducous, uniseriate, filamentous; ventral merophyte very narrow, forming a continuous, pale, median-ventral strip.
Androecia on leading shoots, of similar width to vegetative sectors or slightly narrower, with up to 7 pairs of bracts; bracts saccate in basal portion, the dorsal margin strongly and narrowly involute, the free margin somewhat dilated and inflexed, broadly rounded, entire or rarely with a weak tooth; antheridia solitary, the stalk biseriate. Gynoecia usually not innovating; subinvolucral leaves gradually becoming somewhat larger, the innermost bracts somewhat smaller, free from one another, mostly broadly obovate, on one side coarsely toothed to lobulate-lobate-laciniate, the opposing bract undivided and broadly rounded at apex or 2– 3-lobed to ca. 0.3, the lobes broadly rounded; bracteole united up to 0.3 its length with one or both bracts, very narrowly lanceolate, almost as long as the bracts, with 1–2 broad-based teeth on one or both margins; bract and bracteole bases sometimes with lanceolate accessory lamellae. Perianth elliptic, plicate in upper 0.5 or sometimes nearly to base, the distal portion twisted, the perianth contracted to the somewhat truncate mouth; mouth shallowly and bluntly lobulate, almost entire or weakly crenulate, the marginal cells subquadrate, with uniformly thickened walls without trigones; perianth 3-stratose toward base.
Capsule ovoid-ellipsoidal, the wall 71–78 µm thick, 5–7-stratose; outer layer of cells irregular in shape, the longitudinal walls with strong, nodular thickenings that sometimes extend as short spine-like projections onto outer wall; innermost layer of cells irregular in shape, with semiannular bands closely spaced, normally complete, sporadically forked.
Spores 16.8–19.2 µm in diam., papillose, the papillae often forming short non-anastomosing vermiculate ridges. Elaters bispiral, 7.5–9.6 µm wide.
Key
Distribution and Ecology : Pan-south-temperate in distribution. New Zealand: Campbell Island, Stewart Island (5–690 m), South Island (120–1370 m), North Island (670–1700 m); Australia: Macquarie Island, Tasmania, southeast Australia; New Guinea (4400–4600 m); South Sandwich Islands; South Georgia; Falkland Islands; southern South America; Andes north to Guatemala; Brazil (Serra do Itatiaia); Tristan da Cunha; Gough Island; Africa from Cape of Good Hope to Natal (3153 m); Marion Island; Prince Edward Island; Crozet Island; Kerguelen Island. In New Zealand known from Fiordland, Southland, Otago, Westland, Canterbury (near the Main Divide), Western Nelson, Sounds–Nelson (Richmond Ra.), Southern North Island (Tararua Ra.), Volcanic Plateau (Kaimanawa Ra., Mt. Ruapehu), Taranaki (Mt. Taranaki), Gisborne (Hikurangi) and Auckland (Great Barrier Island, Coromandel Peninsula) EPs.
The species typically occurs at elevations above 700 m on both South and North islands. It occurs in wet Nothofagus forests, where it may be found on cliff faces, large rock outcrops and bryophyte-covered boulders, but particularly along watercourses on soil over boulders. In the penalpine zone it is found in streams under scrub, e.g., of Brachyglottis rotundifolia and Halocarpus biformis. Also at lower elevations, e.g., on top of a boulder in a streambed in an Agathis australis forest with Weinmannia silvicola in a steep-sided stream valley (Waikohatu Stream at Waikohatu Kauri Bridge, Waipoua Forest, Northland, 290 m). Also found on a periodically inundated boulder at the margin of a stream under a canopy of Melicytus ramiflorus and Cyathea dealbata, and occasional dense pockets of Freycinetia baueriana in an otherwise open forest canopy of Beilschmiedia tawa and Weinmannia silvicola (headwaters of Poupou Stream, Kaimai-Mamaku Forest Park, Kaimai Ra., 400–425 m). In the alpine zone it can be found on rocks on tarn and pool margins, in streamlets in Chionochloa tussockland, and at higher altitudes in seepage from late-melting snowbanks. On Stewart Island occurring submerged on rock immediately above Belltopper Falls in an open, humid niche dominated by bedrock with a forest margin of Weinmannia racemosa and Dracophyllum (Port Pegasus, ca. 5 m). On Stewart Island also under considerably drier conditions, e.g., on a sandy exposed bank at 5 m in mosaic communities of stagnant ponds, Sphagnum bog, open Leptospermum scoparium – Dracophyllum heath to 1–2 m tall and dense communities of Gleichenia dicarpa and Empodisma minus (track to Mason Bay, ca. 1–1.8 km W of Freshwater Landing). In the penalpine and alpine zones, the species occurs on dripping rock faces and along watercourses over soil-covered rocks and boulders, on silty banks and in waterfall splash zones, etc., sometimes forming large pure stands. It is tolerant of periodic inundation in rivulets, and in such situations the species may become abundant. At the summit of Mt. Rakeahua (Stewart Island, 600–690 m) the species was found in mosaic communities of penalpine cushion vegetation, herbfields, Chionochloa, prostrate Leptospermum scoparium, Olearia colensoi 0.5–2 m tall and significant areas of exposed rock. It has been found with Allisoniella nigra, Blindia immersa, Campylopus clavatus, Chiloscyphus austrigenus, Ditrichum strictum, Hepatostolonophora rotata var. rotata, Isotachis lyallii, I. montana, Nothogymnomitrion erosum, Pachyglossa tenacifolia, Racomitrium crispulum, Rhacocarpus purpurascens, Riccardia crassa and Triandrophyllum subtrifidum.
Comments : This species is most easily recognized by its markedly squarrose leaves, par-ticularly when moist. The superficial aspect of the plants is sometimes strikingly like that of Cryptochila pseudocclusa, but unlike that species the dorsal leaf margin is erect-inflexed to involute (Fig. 162: 1, 2), rather than narrowly and tightly revolute. Both species have ventrally secund leaves with strongly ampliate ventral margins, the asymmetry of the leaves accentuated in situ by the strong curvature of the dorsal margins.
In the absence of gametangia, Cryptochila grandiflora can easily be mistaken for Adelanthus occlusus (p. 625), an erect plant of similar stature with vertically oriented, entire leaves (Fig. 134: 1, 3). The similarity extends to the concentrically radially aligned arrangement of the leaf cells, the apparent absence of underleaves, the presence of basal microphyllous stoloniform branches, and the uniformly thick-walled leaf cells. In general, however, the leaves of A. occlusus are almost flat and never squarrose, and the tips of leafy shoots bear 2-celled, ellipsoidal, green gemmae. In addition, Adelanthus bears gametangia on strongly reduced intercalary branches, all or mostly from leafless lower sectors of the main shoot or from stolons (Fig. 132: 1; Fig. 133: 1, 2); these can usually be found with careful search.
Smaller, less markedly squarrose, orbicular-leaved expressions of the species superficially resemble Jamesoniella colorata (p. 722), but can be distinguished by the smooth surface and the evenly thick-walled leaf cells, lacking trigones (Fig. 162: 4). In addition, J. colorata is typically reddish tinged to deep wine-red in color, whereas Cryptochila grandiflora is a warm golden brown to reddish brown. The two species may be distinguished by the following couplet.
The genus Hepatostolonophora superficially resembles Cryptochila grandiflora, and also is frequently found growing in sites along penalpine–alpine streamlets. The plants are usually softer and laxer than those of C. grandiflora, it never has red or brown pigments and the leaves are more distant, flaccid and contorted when dry. Hepatostolonophora can always be distinguished by the presence of the highly characteristic, very narrow, deeply dissected underleaves, although these are colorless and appressed to the stem and are easily overlooked.
