Flora of New Zealand Series

[Plate 6F; Figs. 79, 80]

Plants slender and wiry, variable in pigmentation from pale green to yellowish green to deep brown, in loosely interwoven mats (less commonly erect and caespitose), the shoots small to medium, to 6 mm wide, the main shoot at times becoming flagelliform, microphyllous, whip-like and brownish. Branching basically 1–2(3)-pinnate, in well-developed plants with erect, pinnate terminal branches (both Frullania and Microlepidozia types), produced at ± regular intervals from a horizontal, indeterminate, leafy axis that becomes denuded with age (shoots mostly erect in compact, caespitose expressions), the branching frequently subopposite, the branches dorsally ascending, the ultimate ones sometimes dorsiventrally flattened, with leaf lobes dorsally assurgent; erect leafy branches sporadically becoming flagelliform and whip-like; branch half-leaf deeply 2-lobed to 0.8 (or divided to the base into two halves), the margins with a spinose tooth; first underleaf of Frullania -type branch 2–3-lobed, inserted on the ventral-lateral side of base of branch and aligned with underleaves of branch. Ventral-intercalary branches from the horizontal axis erect and leafy, or leafless, glistening, geotropic and stoloniferous, often long and whip-like (to 2.5 mm or more long). Stems stiff and wiry; cortical cells elongate, distinctly thick-walled (especially the radial longitudinal walls), the walls greenish to (often) brown; 2–4 cortical cells intervening between successive leaves on each side of stem. Leaves brittle, rigid, ± concave to canaliculate, distant on the main axis to densely imbricate on the ultimate branches, the disc widely spreading to squarrose, the lobes widely spreading or becoming ± abruptly suberect and parallel with stem (the stem leaves suberect and appressed), ca. 200–250 × 250–400 µm, the insertion transverse; leaves symmetric, ± equally 4-fid to ca. 0.6–0.75 (median sinus). Lobes narrowly attenuate, at times sublinear and ± straight-sided, plane or ± contracted and ventrally sulcate at base, consisting of regular tiers of small quadrate or short-oblong cells; lobe margins entire or sporadically with 1(2) marginal teeth, terminating in a single cell or a uniseriate row of 2–3(4) cells, the cells of uniseriate row ± elongate (2:1) on stem leaves to subquadrate on leaves of ultimate branches; lobes 2–4(6) cells wide at widest point. Disc 2–4 to ( var. ornata) 4–6 cells high; sinus bases and abaxial face of the disc variously appendaged, the lobe margins and abaxial face of disc with laminar outgrowths or vertical lamellae (in var. ornata), or the disc armature sporadically developed, rudimentary or lacking; disc margins each with a single tooth (when unarmed in most leaves, the branch half-leaf consistently toothed); branch leaves typically with disc margins entire. Cells of disc and lobes evenly thick-walled, subquadrate to short-rectangular, small, often only ca. 12–18(20) × 14–22 µm; base of disc with a distinct abaxial row of enlarged supporting cells; surface of disc and lobes finely to distinctly papillose. Underleaves usually asymmetrically 4-fid to near the base, the lobes slender, 2–3 cells wide at the base (1–2 lobes often reduced and uniseriate for most of their length); disc 1–2 cells high, unarmed or rarely with a marginal tooth. Asexual reproduction absent.

Androecia on short, determinate, ± spicate, ventral-intercalary branches from leading shoots (in both leafy and flagelliform sectors); bracts ventricose-cucullate, bilobed to ca. 0.3 by acuminate segments that terminate in a uniseriate row of 2–3 cells; dorsal and ventral margins of disc similar, sparingly denticulate-dentate, the dorsal with a few slime papillae, otherwise smooth; antheridia 1 per bract, large for bract size, the stalk uniseriate; bracteolar antheridia lacking. Gynoecia on abbreviated ventral-intercalary branches issuing from older sectors of main stem and from stoloniform branches, the gynoecium base swollen and rhizoidous; bracts of innermost series much larger than leaves, erect and closely ensheathing the perianth, the bracts membranous, concave, narrowly ovate to subrectangular to obovate, shallowly 2–4-lobed, the lobes markedly leptodermous, broad at base, the summit blunt and dentate-subciliate by elongate cells that are partially or wholly laterally free and rounded at the tip; lamina composed of ± regularly short- to long-rectangular to 5–6-angled, leptodermous cells, the margin irregularly and sparingly crenate-dentate, especially distally; bracteole similar in size and form. Perianth very large for plant size, straight to curved, fusiform, terete and often ± stipitate below, the distal sector clearly 3-plicate and ± gradually narrowing to the contracted, ± contorted mouth, the mouth fringed with cilia and unicellular teeth that are partially or completely laterally free, the cilia terminating in a uniseriate row of up to 4 cells, the armature cells thin-walled, elongate; perianth bistratose in basal sector.

Seta with 8 rows of outer cells surrounding an inner core of 16 much smaller cells. Capsule rather long-ellipsoidal, the wall 29–36 µm thick, of 2–3 layers; outer layer of cells ± regularly narrowly rectangular, with two-phase development, the longitudinal walls with thin, sheet-like thickenings and sparing nodule-like to occasionally spine-like thickenings alternating with walls that are devoid of thickenings, the transverse walls devoid of thickenings; innermost layer of cells ± tiered, irregularly narrowly rectangular cells, semiannular bands common, narrow, close and numerous, usually complete, rarely forked.

Spores 12–13.9 µm in diam., brown, with dome-shaped, coarse bosses (to 3.4 µm in diam.) that are sometimes irregular (through coalescence of adjacent bosses) and with the intervening spore wall papillose. Elaters rigid, nontortuous, 10.6–12.5 µm wide, only slightly tapering toward tips, bispiral to tips, the spirals 3.4–4.8 µm wide.

Comments : Kurzia hippuroides is interpreted broadly in the sense of Engel and Merrill (1996b) to include all New Zealand representatives of the genus with rigid, deeply lobed, squarrose-spreading leaves; small (10–18 µm wide), evenly thick-walled, subquadrate leaf cells; and variable development of disc armature and ornamentation. Pigmentation ranges from light green to dark brown. The cortical cells of the stem are elongate, narrow and distinctly thick-walled.

Optimally developed populations typically have prostrate, leafy “runners,” with erect, closely pinnate “fronds” (Fig. 80: 1, 2). The resulting habit is reminiscent of a miniature “running-pine” (Lycopodium complanatum). In compact, densely caespitose forms the interconnection between erect, leafy shoots is often obscured.

Grolle (1964b, p. 178) describes Kurzia hippuroides as “sehr formenreich,” but two marked expressions may be recognized within the species: