Bazzania adnexa (Lehm. & Lindenb.) Trevis.

Thouvenot, Louis, 2024, A revision of the genus Bazzania Gray (Lepidoziaceae, Marchantiophyta) in New Caledonia with a review of the type specimens, Cryptogamie, Bryologie 20 (6), pp. 117-154 : 124-125

Bazzania adnexa (Lehm. & Lindenb.) Trevis.

( Figs 1E, G ; 4 )

Memorie del Reale Istituto Lombardo de Scienze e Lettere, serie 3, Classe di Scienze Matematiche e Naturali 4: 414 ( Trevisan 1877). — Jungermannia adnexa Lehm.& Lindenb., Novarum et minus cognitarum stirpium pugillus quartus 4: 58 ( Lehmann 1832). — Mastigobryum adnexum (Lehm. & Lindenb.) Mont , in Voyage au Pôle Sud et dans l’Océanie sur les corvettes l’Astrolabe et la Zelée, Botanique I: 243 ( Hombron & Jacquinot 1845). — Type: Australia (collector and date unknown).

Mastigobryum marginatum Steph., Revue bryologique 35 (2): 31 ( Stephani 1908a). — Bazzania marginata (Steph.) N.Kitag. , Journal of the Hattori Botanical Laboratory 36: 449 (Kitagawa 1972 [1973]). — Type: New Caledonia, Le Rat s.n. (lecto-, designated here fide Kitagawa (1970, in sched.), G[“Sine Schedula”, 1907, Le Rat G00066911]!), syn. nov.

Mastigobryum dognyense Steph. Species hepaticarum 6: 461 ( Stephani 1924). — Type: New Caledonia, Dogny, Lerat. (lecto-, designated here fide Kitagawa 1970, in sched., G[Dogny; 1050 m; s.d., L. Lerat G00112718]!), syn. nov.

Mastigobryum lenormandii Steph. Bulletin de l’Herbier Boissier, série 2, 8 (11): 852 ( Stephani 1908c). — Type: New Caledonia, Lenormand (not seen), syn. nov.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — New Caledonia • North Province, Hienghène, Panié massif; path between Bwa Téan and Payolé; on dead wood in mountain wet forest on mica schist bedrock; 1000 m; 9.X.2012; Thouvenot NC1303, NC3463 • Tao; lowland wet forest, on mica schist bedrock; 6.X.2012; Thouvenot NC3387 • Poindimié, Tango Plateau, Upper Hoeëne; on wet rock in riparian forest on volcano-sedimentary bedrock; 350 m; 11.X.2019; Thouvenot NC3324 • ibid; on the ground in riparian forest; 350 m; 11.X.2019; Thouvenot NC3021 • Pouébo, Diahoué; on metamorphic rock in dry creek; 450 m; 21.IX.2019; Thouvenot NC3299 • South Province, Boulouparis, Mt Do; wet forest on ultramafic bedrock with Nothofagus sp. and Araucaria sp. ; 960 m; 14.IX.2016; Thouvenot NC3441 • Mont Dore, Pirogues River; on rocks in riparian woodland with Pandanus sp. ; 13 m; 29.IX.2019; Thouvenot NC3322 • Mouirange; on barks; 500-550 m; 17.IX.2019; Thouvenot NC3303 • La Foa, Mt Dogny; eastern ridge of Mt Dogny, on dead wood in mountain forest on volcano-sedimentary bedrock; 990 m; 23.IX.2008; Thouvenot NC636, NC668 • Mont-Doré, Mouirange; on dead wood in a wet forest with Nothofagus sp. on ultramafic bed-rock; 546 m; 17.IX.2019; Thouvenot NC3316 • Yaté, Chakéké lake; episodic creek, on lateritic silt deposited on trunks; 411 m; 4.X.2019; Thouvenot NC3051 • Païta, Mt Mou; VII.1909; Le Rat s.n. (herbarium E. G. Paris as Mastigobryum lenormandii ; REN [ REN 000219]) • Mt Ouin; on humus on rocks, in mountain wet forest, ultramafic massif; 925 m; 19.IX.2016; Thouvenot NC2480 • Mt Humboldt; cloud forest on ultramafic bedrock, at the base of a tree fern; 1255 m; 1.X.2008; Thouvenot NC3420 • Dumbéa, Mt To; on dead wood in a hollow on the summit; 880 m; 10. V.1951; Hürlimann 2579 p.p. as Bazzania marginata (Steph.) N.Kitag. ; PC [ PC 0793205] • Mt Bouo; on the trunk of dead tree in wet forest, ultramafic massif; 930 m; 16.IX.2016; Thouvenot NC3243, NC3439 • Montagne des Sources; on bark in wet forest with Araucaria rulei F.Muell. , ultramafic massif, 940 m; 21.IX.2016; Thouvenot NC3431 • Sarraméa, on the trail to Dogny plateau; mountain wet forest on volcano-sedimentary bedrock; 889 m; 26.IX.2016; Thouvenot NC3427 ( “dognyense ” form) • Pembaï; VII.1909; L. Le Rat s.n. (herbarium E. G. Paris as Mastigobryum lenormandii ; REN [ REN 000220]).

DISTRIBUTION IN NEW CALEDONIA. — Bazzania adnexa is common in both provinces where it was known under various names of endemic species, now synonyms. It is found at all elevations mainly on grounds and dead woods but also on barks, in wet or riparian forests.

TOTAL RANGE. — Australia, New Zealand, China ( Meagher 2019) and New Caledonia.

DESCRIPTION

Plants

Medium, creeping, rigid, forming dense wefts or mixed with other bryophytes, shoots 2-3.2 mm wide, terminal branching common, pseudo-dichotomous; ventral-intercalary branching common, flagelliform; leaves imbricate, convex, unevenly deflexed when dry, widely spreading and complanate when moist.

Leaves

Asymmetrically ovate oblong to ovate lingulate, falcate, (0.55-)1.00-1.80(-2.00) mm long, (0.25-) 0.50-1.15 mm wide near the bases, 0.24-0.50 mm below apices, length-width ratio 1.4-2.4; dorsal margins widely arched proximally, nearly straight distally, ventral margins straight, undulate or concave, shortly rounded at base, both margins with loose to dense denticulation in upper part, sometimes with a few sharp teeth; apex obliquely truncate, with three conspicuous triangular lobes, 3-8 cells long or longer, margins denticulate, often ornamented with additional sharp teeth.

Cells

Homogeneous but gradually becoming longer and wider toward the base, typically forming an ill-defined subvitta; median cells quadrate rounded to oblong, 20-30 µm wide, 20-60 µm long, either thin-walled with small to medium bulging trigones or thicker walled with inconspicuous trigones; marginal cells smaller; cells in the subvitta 30-50 µm wide, 38-75 µm long.

Underleaves

Erect, rounded-quadrate to wider than long, 0.50-1.30 mm wide, 0.35-1.00 mm long, 1.5-3 times wider than the stem, transversally to obliquely inserted, positioned near and connate to the leaf bases on both sides of the stem; lateral margins straight to convex, sometimes with 2-3 rounded lobules, apices lobulate-dentate with sharp ovate-triangular lobules or teeth, border denticulate; hyaline border narrow to wide all around the free margins, consisting of (1-)2-7 rows of thin-walled cells, occupying 0.15-0.25(-0.50) times the underleaf length; basal cells oblong to rectangular, firm walled with small trigones (Description after New Caledonian specimens).

NOTES

Bazzania adnexa is known to be a very variable species ( Stephani 1908c, Meagher 2013). It can be distinguished from the more or less similar species, by: 1) leaf margins denticulate, more strongly at the apices where additional small teeth are common; 2) leaf apices conspicuously 3-lobate with triangular lobes; 3) underleaves wider than long, bordered by a wide band of hyaline cells, sharply dentate at apices, in addition, leaves are imbricate, ovate oblong to lingulate, strongly narrowed at apices, somewhat falcate; and 4) upper leaf cells have thin to sparingly thickened walls and medium trigones, gradually expanding toward the base forming an ill-defined subvitta. From B. franciana and B. paucidens , the sharply toothed underleaf apex is distinctive. In addition, B. paucidens has shorter leaves, with an ovate shape, apices shallowly trifid or with widely triangular lobes, margins less sharply denticulate. In the largest specimens, leaves are more strongly falcate and narrowed at apex. Furthermore, the underleaves of the youngest parts of the shoots may have a triangular shape due to the strongly recurved lateral margins. In the most depauperate specimens the leaves tend to be more narrowly ovate, with more denticulate margins. Meagher (2010) underlined the similarity of B. marginata with B. franciana , but the synonymy of B. marginata with B. adnexa is here recognized on the basis of the denticulate leaf margins and dentate underleaf apices. As I was unable to check the type of Mastigobryum lenormandii , I transfer it to B. adnexa following Kitagawa (1973) who synonymized it with Bazzania marginata .

Figures

FIG. 1. — Leaves and underleaves drawn at the same scale from type specimens of New Caledonian Bazzania Gray species: A, Mastigobryum leratii Beauverd ex Steph.; A1, underleaf; A2, leaf (both from isotype REN000232); A3, leaf (lectotype G00067047); B, M. bescherellei (Steph.) Steph. (lectotype G00066912); B1, B4, underleaves;B2, B3, leaves;C, M.consociatum Steph.(syntype PC0101765); C1, C2, underleaves;C3, leaf;D, M.francanumSteph.(lectotype G00066893); D1, D2, D5, leaves; D3, D4, underleaves; E, M. dognyense Steph. (lectotype G0011718); E1, leaf; E2, E3, underleaves; F, M. incrassatum Steph. (isolectotype PC0101851); F1, F2, underleaves; F3, F4, leaves; G, M. marginatum Steph. (lectotype G00066911); G1, leaf; G2, underleaf; H, M. paucidens Steph. (holotype G00066787); H1, leaf; H2, underleaf; I, M. quadratum Steph. (lectotype G00066891); I1, leaf; I2, I3, underleaves. Scale bar: 200 µm.

FIG. 4. — Bazzania adnexa (Lehm. & Lindenb.) Trevis.: A, B, E, J, leaves; C, D, G-I, underleaves; F, leaf apex; K, basal leaf cells; L, median leaf cells. A, C, D, F, H, J-L, from Thouvenot NC3316; B, G, from Thouvenot NC3431; E, I, from Thouvenot NC1303. Scale bars: A-E, G-J, 200 µm; F, 100 µm; K, L, 20 µm.