Lepidozia bisbifida Steph.
Lepidozia bisbifida Steph., Sp. Hepat. 3: 593. 1909.
Type: New Zealand, without specific locality, Kirk s.n. (G!).
Lepidozia subquadrata Steph., Sp. Hepat. 6: 341. 1922.
Type: New Zealand, “alpine interior,” without specific locality, Colenso “ inter 2064 ” (G!).
Lepidozia brevipinna Pearson, Univ. Calif. Publ. Bot. 10: 321. pl. 94. 1923.
Type: New Zealand, North Is., Wairakei, Waiora Valley, 4 May 1904, Setchell 9 (UC!).
Plants prostrate to loosely procumbent, the stems loosely interwoven, flexuous, with spreading branches, glaucous and ash grey to ivory, the older shoot sectors burnt orange or lightly tinged with brown as if scorched, the surface dull and water-repellent; shoots medium-sized, to 1.5 cm wide, including branches (sporadically large and to 2 cm wide [including branches] × 7.5 cm long). Branching nearly exclusively of Frullania type, rather short, closely and regularly 1-pinnate to locally 2-pinnate, the branches abruptly tapering, occasionally becoming ± whip-like, flagelliform and microphyllous; secondary branches occasional; branch half-leaf broadly ovate, subsymmetrical, subcordate at the base, 2-lobed to ca. 0.2–0.3, the dorsal lobe often smaller; first branch underleaf large, often squarrose-reflexed, 2–4-lobed (rarely undivided), usually on lateral or ventral-lateral side of stem, often somewhat below the branch, aligned with leaves of main shoot or underleaves of branch. Ventral-intercalary branching occasional, leafy. Stem epidermal cells thin-walled, with a waxy coating like the cells of the leaves. Leaves involute-triangular and distinctly amplexicaul when dry, when moist rigid, distinctly concave to nearly cup-like, approximate to contiguous, intermittently large and small along length of stem, those in well-developed sectors 0.8–1.3 mm long and wide, the leaves of smaller sectors as small as 0.5 mm long and wide, the leaves spreading, nearly horizontal, the insertion broad, strongly incubous; leaves subsymmetric to moderately asymmetric, typically ± equally 4-lobed (rarely bisbifid), the lobes sometimes in turn divided, the leaves then appearing 5–8-lobed, the leaves divided to ca. 0.2–0.5 (median sinus), the distance from dorsal sinus base to insertion subequal to or not much greater than that from ventral sinus to insertion, the sinuses of subequal depth or gradually becoming deeper ventrally. Lobes acute to apiculate, terminating in a single cell or more commonly a uniseriate row of 2–3 cells; cells of uniseriate row ± isodiametric or slightly longer than wide, thin-walled, the terminal cell strongly tapering; median pair of lobes somewhat larger, 6–8(11) cells wide at base, the dorsal lobes (2)3–5 cells wide at base. Disc subsymmetric, (13)15–22(28) cells high at dorsal sinus, 9–14 cells high at ventral sinus, the margins usually entire, the dorsal margin moderately ampliate, sporadically with 1 or more blunt teeth or sinuate, cordate at the base, the ventral margin occasionally with a slender lobuliform process. Cells of disc and lobes uniformly thin-walled, with conspicuous intercellular pits, trigones minute to medium, the median disc cells (18)24–40 × 28–40 µm; median basal cells not differentiated; marginal cells of disc smaller, those of disc and lobes sporadically with thickened outer walls, but rarely consistently so; surface a dense granular coating that ultimately develops cracks or fine fissures (especially over the vertical cell walls), the cell outlines obscured by the scurfy, water-repellent coating. Oil-bodies absent in many leaf cells, otherwise (1)2–3 per cell, colorless, coarsely to moderately botryoidal, spherical and ca. 3 µm in diam. or ellipsoidal with acute tips and 2–3 × 4.5–8 µm, as large as 4 × 10 µm at leaf base, fleeting. Oil-bodies (Engel and Schuster, 2001) small and inconspicuous, 2–5 to (0)4–6(9) per cell, few (often only 3–6[9]) segmented, coarsely botryoidal, much smaller than chloroplasts, often 3 × 6 µm and consisting of a large spherule at each end and 4–6 smaller ones centrally. Underleaves inserted on 9–10 rows of stem cells, widely spreading, ca. 0.7–1× stem width, asymmetrically or symmetrically 4-fid to ca. 0.3–0.45 (median sinus), the underleaves often with 1, 2 or all 3 sinuses narrow, slit-like and the lobes adnate by the surface covering, the underleaves then in situ appearing 2- or 3-lobed, the lobes plane, attenuate to acuminate, consisting of several tiers of 2 laterally juxtaposed cells and then rounded at the tip, or, more commonly, terminating in a single cell or a uniseriate row of 2–4 cells that often terminate in a slime papillae; disc 5–9 cells high at median sinus, the margins plane, entire.
Plants dioecious. Androecia on inconspicuous, short, determinate, tightly spicate, often cernuous ventral-intercalary branches from main shoot; bracts ventricose-cucullate, 2-lobed to ca. 0.3, the lobes acute to short-acuminate; antheridial stalk biseriate. Gynoecia not seen.
Distribution and Ecology : Endemic to New Zealand: Antipodes Islands (150 m), South Island (200–1350 m), North Island (300–500 m). Known from Fiordland, Southland (Ajax Hill), Otago, Westland, Canterbury (Arthur’s Pass, Woolshed Hill), Western Nelson (Paparoa Ra.) and Volcanic Plateau (Tokaanu, Rotorua) EPs.
A species occurring mainly in forests of Nothofagus solandri and N. menziesii ranging from as low as 200 m, but, more often, from over 750 m to treeline. Also known from Metrosideros umbellata – Podocarpus hallii – Dracophyllum traversii upper montane forest. It is found on rotted wood (particularly where there is cover of other bryophytes, along with, at times, hymenophylls) or deep in shaded, moist, sheltered pockets of tree bases, boulders or rotted logs. Also on shaded cliff bases, particularly where soil has accumulated, and plants are notable as scattered glaucous patches among other bryophytes. It often grows loosely attached and may be locally very common. The species at times covers large areas, but typically does not become matted or pure. However, pure mats are at times formed deep in sheltered recesses. Accompanying species in forest habitats are Adelanthus falcatus, Bazzania adnexa, B. nitida, Categonium nitens, Chandonanthus squarrosus, Chiloscyphus leucophyllus, Dicranoloma robustum, Distichophyllum pulchellum, Hymenophyllum multifidum, Hypnum chrysogaster, Lepidozia pendulina, Rhizogonium distichum, Weymouthia cochlearifolia and Zoopsis argentea. In the penalpine zone over soil deep in protected recesses between boulders or under boulder overhangs, as well as on the sides of rills. In the alpine zone on shaded, damp slopes under cover of Chionochloa tussocks. Also known from the geothermal areas of the North Island (see Engel and Schuster, 2001) where it is found on sinter, often under Leptospermum scoparium, Kunzea ericoides and Cyathodes fasciculata scrub with Campylopus capillaceus. On the Antipodes Islands, it occurs in Chionochloa antarctica tussocklands with Campylopus introflexus, Lepidogyna hodgsoniae and Leptotheca gaudichaudii.
Comments : This is the species long known in the New Zealand literature as Lepidozia glaucophylla. Lepidozia bisbifida is readily distinguished from L. glaucophylla by the broadly inserted, deeply concave, involute leaves; by the leptodermous leaf cells with small to minute trigones; and by the ± transverse insertion of the first branch underleaf on the stem, often some distance below the associated branch. Another feature of this species is the intermittently large and small leaf size along the length of the stem. (See also comments under L. glaucophylla.)
The species is quite distinct in the field due to the large plant size coupled with the glaucous condition, with older portions of the plants often burnt orange or lightly tinged with brown and then appearing as if scorched.
