Fissidens pallidinervis Mitten, 1869

Azuelo, Andrea G., Tan, Benito C., Shevock, James R., Manual, Alven, Yorong, Aimanuelzon & Sariana, Lalaine G., 2015, Mosses New for Mindanao Island, Republic of the Philippines, Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 62 (4), pp. 127-134 : 130

4. Fissidens pallidinervis Mitten

[ Fissidentaceae ]

[syn. F. garberi Lesquereux & James , F. minutus Thwaites & Mitten , F. rizalensis E.B. Bartram ]

Fissidens pallidinervis is a nearly pantropical and a micro- Fissidens species that is characterized by having pluripapillose laminal cells, obtuse to round leaf apices, and limbidia restricted to vaginant laminae. In many recent publications, Philippine specimens of Fissidens with pluripapillose laminal cells, obtuse leaf apices and a percurrent leaf costa are treated as one broad taxon, F. microcladus Thwaites & Mitten (see Tan and Iwatsuki 1991). Pursell et al. (1993) made a clarification of the species concept of this confused group of taxa and regrouped them into two separate species, i.e., F. pallidinervis and F. gardneri Mitten (syn. F. microcladus ). The main difference of these two segregated species lies in the size of the two vaginant laminae on the leaf ( Pursell et al. 1993). Good illustrations of the two species are presented by Pursell (2007).

The new Mindanao collection reported here is identified as Fissidens pallidinervis . It is a new species record for Mindanao. Because of the past taxonomic confusion, its distribution in Luzon and Visayan Island groups needs a clarification.

SPECIMEN EXAMINED.— Bukidnon Province. Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park, on soil, Azuelo et al. s.n. ( CMUH).