Temnoma pulchellum (Hook.) Mitt. ex Bastow
Jungermannia pulchella Hook., Musci Exot. 1: pl. 94, f. 1–5. 1818.
Blepharostoma pulchellum (Hook.) Steph., Sp. Hepat. 3: 640. 1909.
Type: New Zealand, South Is., Dusky Bay, 1791, Menzies – c. per. (G!, 2 coll.).
[Plate 3A, B; Fig. 20: 1, oil-bodies, p. 150; Fig. 21]
Plants with a woolly appearance, loosely creeping to suberect, green to yellowish brown; shoots robust, 2.2–3.5 mm wide, to 4 mm near apices of fertile shoots. Branches sparing, almost exclusively of the Frullania type, very rarely with isolated ventral-intercalary branches. Leaves of sterile shoots moderately imbricate, distinctly succubously inserted, 2000–2800 µm wide × 1500–1900 µm long (cilia included), obtrapezoidal to reniform, somewhat but not strongly asymmetrical, somewhat narrowed to the base, quadrilobed to 0.2–0.4 (uniseriate distal sector omitted), with a weak tendency for elaboration of an accessory lobe on the dorsal and ventral margins, the leaf as a whole (lobes and disc) with from 30–38 up to 50 cilia, depending on vigor of the plant. Lobes convex to sulcate, ± broadly acute, the margins sharply and conspicuously setose-ciliate (lobes each with [2]3–5[6] pairs of opposed cilia), the cilia stiff, glossy, 360–650 µm long, formed of generally 5–8 strongly elongated cells; cells of cilia thick-walled, rigid, smooth, 75–120 × 10–16 µm (in upper, tapering portions of cilia) to 22–25 µm wide (in lower portions of cilia); sinus bases ± reflexed, carrying basal cilia with them, which become abaxially recurved. Disc usually somewhat asymmetric, shorter at dorsal sinus than at ventral sinus, usually 12–16 cells high (sinus base to disc base); margins each with (2)3–5(6) long, stiff, straight, uniseriate cilia that are never recurved. Cells of lobes and undivided portions of leaves formed of slightly thick-walled, strongly elongated cells, partially aligned in regular tiers, the cells in the lobes and leaf middle 18–26 µm wide × (43)60–80(90) µm long; leaf surfaces nearly smooth to moderately verrucose. Oil-bodies in all leaf cells (including cells of the setiform lobe apices) occupying small portion of cell, dull, very pale grey, 5–9 per median disc cell, finely granular, subglobose to short-elliptic, 4.3–5.3 × 7.2–8.6 µm, spherical ones 6.7–7.2 µm in diam. Underleaves 0.5 the size of leaves, similar in shape to lateral leaves, quadrifid, the margins similarly spinescent. Fungal partner absent.
Androecia on leading shoots, becoming intercalary, somewhat more slender than vegetative portions of shoot; bracts closely imbricate, ventricose, somewhat spreading at base and the undivided portions then erect, only the 3–4 short lobes spreading to squarrose; lobes and margins near them strongly spinous-ciliate with setose cilia similar to those of the leaves; antheridia 1 per bract. Gynoecia on leading shoots. Bracts erect and sheathing the perianth, narrowly obtrapezoidal, 4(5–6)-lobed to 0.2, the margins of the lobes strongly reflexed (the lobes distinctly sulcate), setigerous or spinescent; lamina margins with 5–6 long cilia. Bracteole virtually like bracts. Perianth relatively elongated, at most weakly narrowed distally, terete below, strongly 3-plicate above, the plicae rounded, rather delicate, the mouth rather broad and truncate, densely setigerous and spinescent, similar to the leaf and bract margins; setose cilia and spines usually 60–70 per perianth mouth, polymorphous, the longer 550–700 µm long.
Seta with outer layer of cells in 19–20 rows of slightly larger cells that are distinctly collenchymatous, the inner core of cells in numerous rows, in 3–4 concentric tiers. Capsule ovoid-cylindrical, ca. 2–2.5× longer than broad, the wall 4–5 layered, ca. 40–50 µm thick; outer layer of cells very large, as thick or thicker than the two layers within combined, irregularly rectangular, pellucid, devoid of thickenings (except in 2[3] rows adjacent to sutures, where with strong nodular to incomplete semiannular thickenings); innermost layer of cells very irregular, with numerous nodular to semiannular bands.
Spores translucent, pale brown, weakly verruculose, 8.5–9.5 µm in diam., subequal to that of elaters. Elaters rather sparingly produced, short and rather thick, bluntly pointed at the weakly tapering ends, 7.5–8.5 µm wide, somewhat contorted, closely bispiral, the reddish spirals ca. 3 µm wide.
Distribution and Ecology : Endemic to New Zealand: Stewart Island, South Island (30–500 m), North Island (340–1220 m). Known from Rakiura (Port Adventure, Port Pegasus), Fiordland (Garnock Burn), Southland (Bluff Hill), Westland (Ross, Lake Ianthe, Lake Ellery), Western Nelson (Karamea, Paparoa syncline), Southern North Island (Ruahine Ra.), Gisborne (Whirinaki), Auckland (Great Barrier Island, Coromandel Peninsula) and Northland (Waipoua, Trounson) EPs.
The species is sporadic in the South Island, where it occurs in dense wet forests on the floor (at times submerged in standing water), on boulders associated with stream courses or on rotted, decorticated wood. At one site it was on woody debris on a limestone wall. The species is common in damp forests of various types in the North Island and, in proper sites, may be locally abundant. It occurs, for example, at Waipoua Forest in Quintinia serrata–Ixerba brexioides–Meterosideros umbellata forests as well as Agathis australis–Beilschmiedia forests, and in podocarp–hardwood forests of Dacrydium cupressinum and Dacrycarpus dacrydioides. Near creeks under secondary forest of Fuchsia excorticata and Melicytus ramiflorus. At higher altitudes found under Libocedrus bidwillii forest and Nothofagus menziesii forest. Commonly associated with Canalohypopterygium tamariscinum, Distichophyllum pulchellum, Heteroscyphus billardierei, Ptychomnion aciculare and Rhaphidorrhynchium amoenum. Other species that have been found with Temnoma pulchellum are Achrophyllum quadrifarium, Cyathophorum bulbosum, Leiomitra lanata, Marchantia macropora, Metzgeria furcata, Plagiochila rutlandii, Radula dentifolia, Schistochila appendiculata, S. balfouriana and Weymouthia cochlearifolia.
Comments : This species bears a slight vegetative resemblance to Trichotemnoma corrugatum (Steph.) R.M.Schust., but differs from it primarily in 1) the tiered leaf cells that uniformly lack trigones; 2) the presence of secondary (brown) pigments; and 3) the quadrifid underleaves (bifid in Trichotemnoma). The position and form of the gametangia, when present, will immediately distinguish the two: the androecia are subfoliose and intercalary on leading shoots in Temnoma vs. minute, bud-like, and ventral-intercalary in origin in Trichotemnoma. The gynoecia in Temnoma are on leading shoots vs. on short ventral-intercalary branches in Trichotemnoma.
This species has been confused with Temnoma paucisetigerum. Temnoma pulchellum is invariably found under forest while T. paucisetigerum is commonly found in more open habitats; the shoots of T. pulchellum are wider and the leaves denser.
