Blepharidophyllum Ångstr.
Blepharidophyllum Ångstr., Öfvers. Kongl. Vetensk.-Akad. Förhandl. 30(5): 151. 1873.
Type: Blepharidophyllum densifolium (Hook.) Ångstr. ex C.Massal. (≡Jungermannia densifolia Hook.)
Plants often erect, in exposed sites brownish with age, vigorous, to 3 mm broad, to 10 cm long, the shoot apices distinctly ventrally inclined or cernuous. Branching sparingly or absent, the branches of Frullania and Radula types; ventral-intercalary branches sporadic. Stems with cortex scarcely to weakly differentiated, the cortical cells considerably or somewhat smaller than the medullary and with walls weakly thickened. Rhizoids often few or none, in fascicles from stem at ventral leaf bases. Leaves complicate-bilobed to ca. 0.6, U-shaped in cross section below juncture of dorsal and ventral lobes, the leaves spatulate, not keeled, the insertion in dorsal half of leaf somewhat, if weakly, incubous, in ventral half of leaf obliquely succubous but the ventral end of insertion arcuate; lobes subequal, ± ventrally secund, narrowly lingulate-lanceolate, with apices narrowed, shallowly bilobed or retuse to rounded, the lobes spinose-dentate to ciliate; lamina margins conspicuously ciliate, at least toward the base. Cells in lobe middle weakly elongated, the walls thin, with nodose trigones; distal cells subisodiametric; surface closely and rather coarsely papillose. Oil-bodies conspicuous, dull opaque, 2 in all leaf cells, granular. Underleaves lacking. Asexual reproduction lacking.
Androecia inconspicuous, hardly differentiated from sterile shoot sectors, terminal but becoming intercalary, sometimes repeatedly so; bracts leaf-like but with the base ventricose, without a lobule; antheridia 2–4 per bract, the stalk 2-seriate. Gynoecia terminal, the unfertilized ♀ rarely innovated by ventral-intercalary branches, a perigynium absent, the bracts free, similar to leaves but larger and with margins more strongly ciliate, divided to 0.5, the lobes each always shallowly bilobed. Perianth long-emergent, narrow-based, fusiform or flask-shaped, slightly dorsiventrally flattened in basal sector, the distal sector more strongly flattened, the upper 0.25 plicate (the plicae not extending to the mouth), the perianth gradually narrowed toward mouth; mouth narrow, truncate, shallowly bilabiate, copiously ciliate, the cilia numerous, flexuous, formed of 1–2 distinctly elongated, narrow, thick-walled cells; perianth 4–5-stratose at base, the distal sector unistratose.
Sporophyte as in family.
For comments see under family.
References: Grolle (1965d); Schuster (1999c, 2002a).
