Flora of New Zealand Series

Lepidozia tetrapila Hook.f. & Taylor in Taylor, London J. Bot. 5: 370. 1846.

Mastigophora tetrapila (Hook.f. & Taylor) Trevis., Mem. Reale Ist. Lombardo Sci. Lett. III, 4: 416. 1877.

Telaranea tetrapila (Hook.f. & Taylor) J.J.Engel & Merrill, Phytologia 79: 253. June 1996 (1995). Lectotype: New Zealand, Hooker “n. 119. 1844” (FH!); isolectotype: (W!, Lindenberg Hep. no. 4739).

[Fig. 50: 6, oil-bodies, p. 268; Figs. 61, 62: 1–3, 9–12; Fig. 67: 5, oil-bodies, p. 322]

Plants soft, flexuous yet firm, loosely prostrate to suberect, in dense, compact mats, pale green to yellowish green to olive-green (to pale amber in var. cancellata), nitid when dry, often somewhat water-repellent; plants variable in stature, small to medium, to 1.5 cm wide, including branches. Branching regular and rather densely 1-pinnate, sometimes 2-pinnate, at times plumose in robust plants, the branches of the Frullania type; branch half-leaf 2(4)-lobed, narrowly rectangular, the lobes parallel to weakly diverging; first branch underleaf undivided and ciliiform or, less often, bifid, sporadically trifid, inserted on ventral side of branch near or (often) at juncture of branch and main axis. Ventral-intercalary branches occasional, leafy, often becoming leading shoots. Stems with cortical cells distinctly differentiated, thin-walled, in 11–18 rows; cortical cells in section much larger than the numerous 35–65 medullary cells. Rhizoids from distal cells of underleaf disc. Leaves on main shoot rigid, obliquely spreading, distant (small phases) to loosely to closely imbricate, plane to moderately convex, the insertion weakly to distinctly incubous; leaves 630–980 µm wide × 630–840 µm long, subsymmetric, 4–6(8)-lobed to 0.4–0.55, typically shorter than the disc (longer than the disc in var. cancellata). Lobes typically subcaudate, the base subtriangular, 2–4 cells wide at extreme base, terminating in a uniseriate row of (4)5–6(8) cells (typically more than half the length of lobe); cells of the uniseriate portion short, often ± barrel-shaped (longer cells of the uniseriate portion to 2.5:1 in var. cancellata), rather thin-walled, the septa thickened in the corners but the septa not swollen and projecting, the distal lobe cells often short-quadrate and more numerous resulting from secondary cell divisions; surface of at least the distal half of lobes finely to ± distinctly striate-papillose. Disc symmetrically to somewhat asymmetrically broadly subrectangular to cuneate, 4–6(7) cells high (from median sinus base to leaf base), (9)14–21 cells wide in distal portion narrowing to 8–12 cells wide in basal portion (disc typically 8 cells wide throughout in var. roseana); cells of disc margins often bulging. Cells of disc thin-walled but firm, trigones lacking or minute, large, convex, pillow-like (obvious even under low magnification), the largest cells (in median sector of disc) large, often ± isodiametric, (45)50–70 µm wide × 55–90 µm long; basal 1–2 rows of disc cells considerably larger (wider), irregularly arranged or in ± regular tiers; cells of disc margins (especially the dorsal) sometimes forming an indistinct border of elongate, narrower cells; surface smooth. Oil-bodies greyish ( var. tetrapila) or hyaline  (var.cancellata), coarsely papillose, the spherules protruding beyond membrane, the median disc cells with 5–11 oil-bodies per cell (8–9 in lobe cells), narrowly to broadly elliptic to subcrescentic and 5.5–5.8 × 8.3–11.6 µm, less often ca. 5.3 × 14.7 µm, the subspherical ones 5.9–6.6 µm in diam. Underleaves normally smaller than leaves (subequal to leaves in var. cancellata), strongly spreading, contiguous to loosely imbricate, plane, 4–6-lobed to 0.4–0.6, the lobes ciliiform, the uniseriate portion formed of 3–5(8) somewhat elongated cells; disc symmetrically cuneate, (3)4–5 cells high (median sinus), the cells in ± regular tiers or irregularly arranged, the disc (10)12–19 cells wide in distal portion narrowing to 8–10 cells wide at base. Rhizoid initial cells small, subquadrate, at bases of lobes or forming a continuous bistratose band across the apex of the disc. Asexual reproduction lacking. Fungal partner an ascomycete.

Plants dioecious. Androecia on short, abbreviated, ventral-intercalary branches from leading shoots, as well as from flagelliform or stoloniform branches; bracts closely imbricate, dorsally assurgent, deeply concave, 2–3-lobed, each lobe terminating in a single cell or a uniseriate row of 2 not to hardly elongated cells; lamina cells irregular in shape and arrangement, the dorsal margin of lamina feebly dilated and slightly incurved, irregularly crenulate, at times with a few sessile slime papillae; bracts monandrous; antheridia large for bract size, the stalk short, ca. 7 cells high, uniseriate; bracteolar antheridia absent. Gynoecia with bracts and bracteoles in 2–3 series, inserted on the vestigial perigynium, becoming progressively larger and less deeply lobate toward the perianth, those of innermost deeply concave, the apical portion canaliculate; bracts of innermost series ± suborbicular, irregularly 4-lobulate, the lobules terminating in a uniseriate row of 1–2 cells; bract margins crenate to dentate, the armature frequently sharply inflexed, often terminating in a slime papilla, the bracts with an obscure border formed of 1 to several rows of cells longer, narrower and more irregular than those within; bracteoles nearly identical in form to bracts although a little smaller, free from bracts. Perianth not extending above vegetative axes, 0.5–0.55 emergent, ovoid-cylindrical, terete in basal half, the distal half obscurely trigonous and with 6–9 plicae, the sulci shallow to deep; perianth narrowed toward a decidedly contracted mouth, the mouth with 6 narrowly triangular lobes, each lobe fringed with slightly thick-walled, contorted, crowded, sparingly papillose cilia, the terminal cell of each cilium coarsely papillose.

Seta with 8–9 rows of outer cells surrounding an inner core of 20–34 much smaller cells. Capsule short-cylindrical, 560–805 µm wide, 1204–1470 µm long, the wall 41–50 µm thick, of 4 layers (locally 3), the outer layer subequal to the combined thickness of the inner layers, or slightly less thick; outer layer of cells in tiers, ± regularly short-rectangular, with two-phase development rather indistinct, the longitudinal secondary walls with sheet-like thickenings and nodule- to spine-like thickenings (4–6 per cell) alternating with primary walls also with similar thickenings, the transverse walls almost devoid of thickenings, or with local, non-pigmented, nodular swellings; innermost layer of cells ± tiered, rather regularly narrowly rectangular, with semiannular bands common, rather narrow, complete, only rarely forked to delimit local fenestrae.

Spores 12–13.4 µm in diam., the wall rather thick in optical section, dark yellow-brown, areolate (with a low, close network of well-defined, rather thick, furcate ridges that anastomose to form areolae). Elaters rigid, ± straight, 9.1–12.5 µm wide, only slightly tapering toward tips, bispiral to tips, the spirals 3.8–5.3 µm wide.

Comments : Telaranea tetrapila is the oldest name for the species that has generally been called Telaranea (or Lepidozia) gottscheana in the New Zealand literature (e.g., Hodgson, 1956; Allison and Child, 1975). The type of the name L. gottscheana, however, is T. patentissima. At its best, T. tetrapila is one of the most handsome of our Telaranea species, and is common throughout New Zealand. The plants are highly variable in size, color, and general aspect, as well as leaf form and number of lobes. The most useful features for distinguishing the species are the large, pillow-like, almost geometrically hexagonal disc cells (Fig. 61: 4; Fig. 62: 3), which are conspicuous and easily observed, even under the dissecting microscope, the bulging cells of the lobe bases and the short, secondarily divided cells at the lobe tips (Fig. 61: 5, 6; Fig. 62: 9). One marked expression of T. tetrapila   (var.roseana) bears a strong resemblance to T. tuberifera, due to its widely spreading, parallel-sided leaves (Fig. 62: 1). Another  (var.cancellata) somewhat resembles T. gibbsiana in the finely elongated leaf lobes, and large, ciliiform-lobed underleaves.

Telaranea tetrapila has often been confused with T. praenitens, which differs by its more deeply lobed, palmate leaves and the characteristic minute denticulations formed by the swollen projecting end-walls on the lobes and disc margins.