Hennediellaustroafricana Hedd. & M.J.Cano, sp. nov., 2022

Hedderson, Terry A. & Cano, María J., 2022, Hennediella austroafricana Hedd. & amp; M. J. Cano, a new moss species from the Cape winter-rainfall region, Journal of Bryology 44 (3), pp. 222-225 : 223-224

Hennediellaustroafricana Hedd. & M.J.Cano, sp. nov.

( Figure 1)

Diagnosis. Distinct from all other members of the genus in the combination of leaves with a border of short-rectangular, thick-walled, smooth (or at least less papillose) cells, and sporophytes with a thick seta and a peristome with a high basal membrane and relatively short, straight to slightly twisted, filiform teeth.

Type. South Africa. Western Cape Province: Touws Rivier area, road from R318 to Nougaspoort, at Drie Kuilen. On clay among shrubs on S-facing, steep, shale cliffs and slopes with grass – shrub vegetation . 33° 35 ′ 20.4 ′′ S, 20°00 ′ 01.7 ′′ E, 1160 m, Hedderson 18472a, 22 September 2013 (holotype: BOL ; isotype: MUB 61034 ) .

Description. Plants small, 3 – 4 mm tall, terricolous, gregarious to forming loose turf, yellowish to brownish green. Stems simple or 1- to 2-branched at base, 0.9 – 1.5 mm long; radiculose at base, rhizoids brownish, smooth; in transverse section round, central strand present and well developed, sclerodermis absent, hyalodermis absent, occasionally outermost two layers of cells smaller and with somewhat thickened external walls; axillary hairs 6 – 8 cells long, hyaline throughout. Leaves crowded, erect-spreading to patent wet, loosely contorted with incurved tips dry, variable in shape, long-elliptic to oblong-ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 1.7 – 2.2(– 2.9) × 0.7 – 0.8 mm, non-decurrent, often distinctly rounded to insertion; apices acute; margins plane, papillose-crenulate or crenulate-dentate from middle to basal third, with 1 – 3 teeth per margin at the apex; costa strong, 82 – 100 μm wide, reddish, excurrent in a stout, reddish-brown, smooth or dorsally papillose-dentate mucro, 108 – 150 μm long, dorsal superficial cells elongate, seriate papillose, ventral cells hexagonal to rectangular, papillose from apex to basal third, elongate in the rest, transverse section at mid-leaf circular to semicircular, guide cells 2 or 3 (rarely up to 5 in larger leaves) in one (rarely two) layers, with 3 or 4 rows of dorsal stereids, ventral stereid band absent, hydroid strand present, dorsal epidermis present at least laterally, ventral epidermis present; upper and mid-laminal cells unistratose, irregularly hexagonal to quadrate or short rectangular, 11 – 19 × 11 – 19 μm, walls thin, papillae C-shaped, 4 – 7 per cell; bordered by narrower, short-rectangular, (length to width ratio 1.8 – 5.2), slightly thick-walled cells that are smooth or with 3 – 6 simple, rarely bifurcate, papillae, up to 3 – 6 cells wide at mid-leaf, reduced to 1 or 2 rows above, mostly unistratose but occasionally bistratose in patches; basal cells differentiated in lower third, rectangular, 45 – 80 × 13 – 21 μm, thin-walled, smooth, marginal cells of base 22 – 64 × 5 – 11 μm, slightly thick-walled, smooth. Autoicous. Perigonia in short subperichaetial buds or on separate branches arising from plant base. Perichaetia terminal, leaves somewhat larger than, but otherwise similar to, upper stem leaves. Seta 2.5 – 4.2 mm, pale- to orangeyellow, becoming brownish with age, one per perichaetium, stout, twisted to the left throughout when dry. Capsule long-cylindrical, slightly curved, 1.6 – 3.0 mm long, reddish to reddish brown, neck short; exothecial cells rectangular, often with diagonal ends, 72 – 130(– 168) × 18 – 37 μm, thin-walled, 1 or 2 rows at mouth rounded to transversely short rectangular and with thicker walls; stomata restricted to base, phanerophore; annulus of two rows of vesiculose cells; peristome yellow to orange, comprising 32 filiform, densely spiculose, straight or slightly twisted teeth 350 – 390(– 450) μm long, arising from a high basal membrane, 300 – 375 μm long. Operculum longconical, usually somewhat oblique, 0.8 – 1.5 mm long, cells rectangular, spirally arranged. Calyptra cucullate, 1.8 – 2.5 mm long, brown to yellow-brown. Spores spherical to shortly ellipsoidal, 17 – 22 μm in diameter, pale brown, spiny-papillose. Laminal KOH colour reaction orange to red-orange.