Bazzania pectinata (Lindenb. & Gottsche) Schiffn.

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 : 142-144

Bazzania pectinata (Lindenb. & Gottsche) Schiffn.

( Figs 2D ; 11 L-R)

Nova Acta Academiae Caesareae Leopoldino-Carolinae Germanicae Naturae Curiosorum 60 (2): 259 ( Schiffner 1893). — Mastigobryum pectinatum Lindenb. & Gottsche , Species Hepaticarum (fasc. 8-11): 84 ( Lindenberg & Gottsche 1851). — Type: Java, Blume s.n. in herbarium N. L. Lg. G. (iso-, G[« original sub J. tridens β », herb. Nees G00282551, G00282552]!; iso- (?), PC[Java, ex herbarium Dozy & Molkenboer PC0103140]!).

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — New Caledonia • South Province, Humboldt massif; in mountain scrubland; 1280-1300 m; 11.IX.2014; Métoyer MET037, MET042, MET043, MET04 • ibid.; on bark in cloud forest; 1255 m; 1.X.2008; Thouvenot NC3423.

DISTRIBUTION IN NEW CALEDONIA. — First reported in New Caledonia by Hürlimann (1985), Bazzania pectinata is rarely collected in the large ultramafic massif of South Province, at the highest elevations (1200-1300 m) in mountain forests and scrublands.

TOTAL RANGE. — Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia (GBIF accessed in November 2022).

DESCRIPTION

Plants

Medium sized, in loose wefts, moist shoots 2 mm wide, stems 0.20 mm wide; terminal branching common with long pseudo-dichotomous branches, ventral-intercalary branches usually flagelliform, rare normal leaved ventral branches, secondarily able to produce terminal branching.

Leaves

Bases narrowly imbricate, upper parts spaced from one another in a longer part, complanate and spreading at right angle when moist, slightly downcurved when dry; leaves narrowly lingulate, falcate, with bases slightly wider, 0.60-1.10 mm long, 0.25-0.45 mm wide, length-width ratio 2.2-2.5; cuticle smooth, margins sub-straight, entire, sub-parallel, the dorsal margins slightly arched at base, the ventral hardly concave or straight; apices truncate, usually 3-lobate, lobes conspicuous, typically erect, narrowly to widely triangular acute, 3-8 cells long, 1-8 cells wide at bases.

Cell

Areolation heterogeneous with a more or less conspicuous subvitta of 5-7 rows of larger and longer cells unevenly separate from the median isodiametric cells; in few or many leaves, subvitta can be reduced to a few larger cells near the base or less neatly distinguished from the surrounding cells; oil bodies numerous in any kind of cells, small, smooth, spherical to ovoid, persistent; median cells small, mostly quadrate rounded, 12-20 µm wide, 15-25 µm long, with medium thick walls without trigones, marginal cells not differentiated, subvitta cells 20-30 µm wide, 25-40 µm long, walls thin to medium, trigones conspicuous, acute with convex or flat sides.

Underleaves

Transversally inserted, positioned near the leaf base on one side of the stem, indifferently on right or left hand, free on both sides, small, appressed, barely visible, quadrate rounded or wider than long, 0.12-0.15 mm long, 0.13-0.21 mm wide, at most as wide as the stem; apices entire or shallowly emarginate-lobulate; cells like the median leaf cells.

Gynoecia

Terminal on short ventral-intercalary branches, unfertilized in the specimens seen, c. 1 mm long, inner bracts ovate-oblong, deeply trifid, apical margins ciliate, lateral margins denticulate to shortly ciliate, perianth tubular, apices constricted and ciliate (Description after New Caledonian specimens).

NOTES

Bazzania pectinata is a delicate pretty plant immediately distinctive by the conspicuous pinnate setting of the narrow, parallel-sided leaves. The complanate shoots, hardly modified when dry, the discreet underleaves and the conspicuous subvitta in most of the leaves complete the picture of this species.

I was unable to locate the original material of Mastigobryum pectinatum and I could not get evidence of the isotype status for the sample kept at PC which came from the herbarium of Dozy and Molkenboer, but without any collector name nor other inscription proving that it could be part of the original material used by the authors. Conversely, two isotypes at G provided reliable material.

Figures

FIG. 2. — Leaves and underleaves drawn at the same scale from type specimens of New Caledonian Bazzania Gray species:A, Mastigobryum serrifolium (Steph.) Steph.(syntype G00282526); A1, underleaf; A2, leaf; B, M. bernieri f. falcifolium Steph. (lectotype G00282530); B1, leaf;B2, underleaf;C, M. subintegrum Steph. (isotype G00112148); C1-C3 underleaves; C4-C6 leaves; D, M. pectinatum Lindenb. & Gottsche (isotype G00282552); D1, D5, leaves; D2-D4 underleaves; E, Herpetium australe Mont. (lectotype PC0769355); E1, underleaf; E2, leaf; F, Jungermannia tridens Reinw., Blume & Nees (isotype G00064266); F1, underleaf; F2, F3, leaves. Scale bar: 200 µm.

FIG. 11. — A-E, Bazzania loricata (Reinw., Blume & Nees) Trevis.: A, marginal underleaf cells; B, marginal and median leaf cells; C, leaf; D, underleaf; E, leaf apex; F-K, B. parisii (Steph.) N.Kitag.: F, G, underleaves; H, J, leaves;I, median cells;K, basal cells;L-R, B. pectinata(Lindenb.& Gottsche) Schiffn.: L, median leaf cells; M, basal and marginal ventral leaf cells; N-P, underleaves;Q, R, leaves.A-E from Müller NC143 (DR); F-K, from Metoyer MET109A; L-R from Thouvenot NC3423. Scale bars: A, B, I, K-M, 20 µm; C, D, F-H, J, O-R, 200 µm; E, 100 µm; N, 50 µm.