Flora of New Zealand Series

Jungermannia schismoides Mont., Ann. Sci. Nat. II. 19: 250. 1843.

Anastrophyllum schismoides (Mont.) Steph., Hedwigia 32: 140. 1893. 

Original material: Auckland Is., Hombron.

[Plate 13C; Figs. 147, 148; Fig. 150: 1, 2, oil-bodies, p. 684]

Plants suberect to erect, yellow-brown to reddish brown to deep red to wine-red, the shoot tip dorsally hooked to subcircinate; shoots rather robust, to 1.8 mm wide. Branching rather frequent, of lateral-intercalary type; leafless lateral-intercalary stolons rather common, slender, wire-like, with rhizoids. Stems rather rigid, the cortex with outermost layer of cells with moderately and evenly thickened walls, the subepidermal 2–3 layers distinctly thick-walled and deeply pigmented; medullary cells thin-walled, colorless. Rhizoids not seen on leafy shoots. Leaves rigid, strongly dorsally falcate-secund, the dorsal half of leaf lamina (in dorsal view) ± vertically oriented, the opposing leaves loosely and broadly overlapping dorsally and extending across the width of stem and often somewhat beyond, the dorsal lobe incurved to spreading to squarrose-reflexed, the ventral lobe usually broadly channeled and incurved; leaf bases (in ventral view) tightly shingled and appressed to the stem, the shoots in ventral aspect strongly convex; insertion transverse in dorsal half and extending to stem midline dorsally, obliquely succubous in ventral half; leaves deeply channeled, when flattened broadly elliptic to oblate-ovate to subreniform, with a subcordate base, (1200)1600–1800 µm wide × (800)1100–1800 µm long, ± asymmetrically shallowly to distinctly bilobed to 0.3–0.45, the dorsal lobe usually smaller and narrower than the ventral, the sinus base acute to broadly U-shaped; lobes entire or obscurely and distantly toothed, the lobes broadly to narrowly acute, terminating in a single sharp cell or more commonly the lobe tips slenderly acuminate, often apiculate, often hyaline, terminating in a uniseriate row of 2–6(7) ± isodiametric or at most moderately elongated cells; dorsal margin of lamina entire to obscurely crenulate by projecting septa, or distantly toothed by blunt to rather narrow, sharp teeth, the margin moderately arched, contracted at the base, not decurrent; ventral margin broadly ampliate, contracted to a subcordate base, not decurrent. Cells in median portion of leaf thin-walled, with bulging to nodulose, often confluent trigones, the lumen ± stellate, the cells 14–18 µm wide × 19–22 µm long, the basal cells often deeper pigmented (often red-brown), somewhat larger, but not much elongated; marginal cells of leaves at times weakly longitudinally elongated, lacking trigones (the free wall thickened), forming an indistinct border, the margin sometimes weakly crenulate by projecting septa of the marginal cells; surface rather obscurely striate-papillose, becoming distinctly long-striate toward leaf base. Oil-bodies pale smokey grey, opaque, in lamina middle 2–3(4) to (2)3–5 per cell, moderately papillose, the globules moderately protruding beyond membrane, the oil-bodies subglobose to elliptic, often rather broadly so, at times irregular in shape, most 3.8–5.8 × 6.7–7.7 µm, some 4.3–4.8 × 4.8–5.3 µm; basal cells each with 3–5 oil-bodies per cell. Underleaves absent. Gemmae rather common, 2-celled, pale, 18.2–18.7 µm in diam., polygonal, typically with 6 blunt projections. Fungal partner absent.

Dioecious. Androecia becoming intercalary on main shoots or long branches, a little wider than vegetative sectors (often recognizable only by the inflated bases of the bracts), with up to 5 pairs of bracts; bracts of similar size to leaves, deeply concave to subcupulate at base with a broad, convex bulge, the dorsal margin weakly undulate, entire to obscurely crenate, usually with a lobuliform tooth at the base; antheridia 2–3 per bract, the stalk biseriate; paraphyllia sporadically present, irregular and lobe-like, inserted on median dorsal surface of stem or in axil of bract. Gynoecia on main shoots and leading lateral-intercalary branches, in absence of fertilization often with a single, strong subfloral innovation continuing growth of the shoot; outer involucral bracts slightly to at most moderately larger than leaves, straight, not falcate, closely imbricate, deeply concave, asymmetrically bifid; innermost pair of bracts somewhat smaller, often ± plicate, at times ± symmetrically bifid to 0.5, the lobes often with a few minute teeth, the sinus at times broadly dilated, reflexed and with irregular lobuliform extensions, the lamina margins each with a lobule and minute accessory teeth; a third scale-like bract sometimes present, ca. 0.5 or even 0.25 the size of innermost pair of bracts, irregularly 2–3-lobed, inserted at perianth base or some distance above the base; bracteoles absent. Perianth narrowly elliptic to fusiform, tapering gradually to the mouth, deeply plicate in distal 0.5–0.75, at times with a few broad plicae descending almost to the perianth base; mouth shallowly lobulate, the lobules acute, irregularly ciliate and toothed, the lobule margins with sharp, projecting teeth and short, flexuous cilia, the cilia uniseriate, of 2–4 elongated cells; lobules of mouth sharply distinct in areolation, the cells contorted and sinuous, with evenly thickened walls, the cells of the perianth proper similar to those of the leaves; perianth 4–5-stratose in basal sector.

Seta 14–15 cells in diam., with 45–48 rows of outer cells surrounding an inner core of somewhat smaller cells. Capsule short-ellipsoidal, the walls 53–56 µm thick, of 4–5 layers, the outer layer of cells equal to thickness of ca. 1.9 of interior strata; outer layer of cells with distinct one-phase development, the cells subquadrate to short-subrectangular, with red-brown nodule-like to spine-like thickenings on both longitudinal and transverse walls; semiannular bands occasionally present but usually only 1(2) per cell, and typically at the cell ends, the thickenings at times anastomosing, particularly at the cell corners, but without development of fenestrae; inner layer of cells subrectangular, semiannular bands common, rather closely spaced, the bands often non-pigmented in median portion, often incomplete, the radial walls often with nodule-like to spine-like thickenings, the bands or thickenings occasionally forking and anastomosing but at best delimiting only isolated fenestrae.

Spores 11–13 µm in diam., red-brown, with rather sharply defined, rather large papillae that sporadically coalesce to form at most short-vermiculate features. Elaters slightly tortuous to nearly straight, 6.7–8.2 µm wide, bispiral to tips, the spirals 1.9–2.4 µm wide, reddish brown.

Distribution and Ecology : New Zealand: Campbell Island, Auckland Islands, Antipodes Islands, Stewart Island (330–530 m), South Island (20–1310 m), North Island (740–960 m), Chatham Islands. Otherwise amphi-Pacific-temperate: Australia: Tasmania, Victoria; southern South America. In New Zealand known from Fiordland, Southland, Otago, Westland, Canterbury (near the Main Divide), Western Nelson, Southern North Island (Tararua Ra.), Volcanic Plateau (Rainbow Mtn.), Taranaki (Pouakai Ra.) and Auckland (Mt. Moehau) EPs. Most abundant in Westland, Otago and Southland.

In New Zealand the species often forms large, usually pure populations, mostly occurring above ca. 430 m and into the penalpine zone. The species is shade-intolerant, and in forested areas it is found where there is considerable exposure to light, such as, for example, breaks in the forest canopy (especially in low Nothofagus solandri var. cliffortioides, N. menziesii and Dracophyllum forest), semi-open areas at the forest margin, and exposed rocky knolls. In the south it occurs in peat bogs of Sphagnum, Oreobolus and Donatia with species such as Lepidothamnus laxifolius. The species occurs on well-drained, often steep slopes and bryophyte-covered banks, usually on soil, particularly on infertile gleyed soils, in hummocks over very decayed stumps, on the tops of bryophyte-covered logs and rarely as an epiphyte (on Weinmannia racemosa trunk, a single record). It often is a component of bryophyte-rich (particularly hepatic-rich) sites. Associated species are Adelanthus occlusus, Bazzania involuta, Blepharidophyllum vertebrale, Campylopus bicolor, C. clavatus, Chandonanthus squarrosus, Cryptochila grandiflora, C. pseudocclusa, Dicranoloma robustum, Gackstroemia weindorferi, Jamesoniella colorata, Lepidozia ulothrix, Racomitrium pruinosum and Wijkia extenuata.

Comments : The shape and orientation of the leaves appears complex in situ, but is in fact fairly simple, once the leaves are removed from the stem. The leaves are moderately to strongly falcate and strongly channeled from base to apex, with broadly inflexed, entire margins (Fig. 147: 1). The dorsal half of the leaf lamina in attached leaves is vertically positioned (seen ± on edge in dorsal view), whereas the ventral half of the leaf appears strongly cupped. The leaves are virtually impossible to flatten under a coverslip, but if bisected longitudinally so they will lie flat, they are seen to be broadly elliptic to suborbicular in outline, with a broad, U-shaped sinus between the lobes. The dorsal lobe is usually distinctly smaller and narrower than the ventral. The surface of distal half of the leaf is rather obscurely striate-papillose but toward the leaf base becomes markedly long-striate and quite easily observed.

The species has two varieties.