Cheilolejeunea trifaria var. clausa (Nees & Mont.) Bastos & Gradstein

Gil-Novoa, Jorge Enrique & Costa, Denise Pinheiro, 2023, Synopsis of the species of Cheilolejeunea (Marchantiophyta, Lejeuneaceae) in the Pacific dominion and Páramo province of tropical America, Phytotaxa 587 (2), pp. 73-120 : 111-113

29.2 Cheilolejeunea trifaria var. clausa (Nees & Mont.) Bastos & Gradstein (41: 2020):—

Lejeunea clausa Nees & Mont. (in Montagne 1840: 337).

Type:— FRENCH GUIANA. Mt. Serpent, April 1838, Leprieur 276 (holotype PC).— Fig. 20A–J .

Cheilolejeunea clausa (Nees & Montagne) Schuster (1980: 863) , syn. fide Bastos & Gradstein (2020)

Plants yellowish green to dark brown, 0.8–1.2 mm wide. Stems in cross section 75–110 µm in diameter, 7(–8) epidermal cells, 25–40 × 10–28 µm; 10–12 medullary cells, 15–24 × 8–11 µm. Ventral merophytes 2 cells wide. Leaves imbricate, ovate-orbicular, fully flat to slightly convex, 470–600 × 350–480 µm; apex rounded; margin entire or with slightly projecting cells, dorsal and ventral margins curved; cells orbicular to ovate, slightly mammillose on dorsal side, with conspicuous trigones; basal cells 22–40 × 15–28 µm, median cells 15–38 × 15–25 µm, marginal cells 12–24 × 10–16 µm. Lobules trapezoid, 1/4–1/3 of leaf length, free margin involute, tooth short and acute, formed by one cell, keel arched. Underleaves slightly distant to subimbricate, orbicular, 180–400 × 230–580 µm, 3–4 × stem width, bifid to 1/3, V-shaped sinus, lobes acute, margins entire, base auriculate, insertion arched. Dioicous. Androecia commonly intercalary, 3–4 pairs of bracts. Gynoecia with lejeuneoid innovations, bracts oblong, 600 × 280 µm, apex rounded and margin entire, lobule 170 × 210 µm, bracteole ovate 300 × 520 µm, bifid to 1/7, usually recurved. Perianth 5-keeled, beak short. Vegetative reproduction by caducous leaves.

Distribution and habitat:—Neotropical, occurring in United States, Bermuda, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Colombia, Venezuela, French Guiana, Ecuador, Brazil, and Paraguay ( Bastos 2017, Campos et al. 2014). This species usually grows as an epiphyte in the study area, on the trunks of trees in lowland rainforest, lower and upper montane rainforests, between 150–2500 m, in the Puntarenas-Chiriquí, Guatuso-Talamanca, Venezuelan, Magdalena, and Chocó-Darién provinces of the Pacific dominion. The records of C. trifaria var. clausa occurring in the Páramo ( Fig. 21 ), actually belongs to the Cauca province.

Notes: —The variety is characterized by underleaves orbicular, dioicous sexuality, and vegetative reproduction occasionally by caducous leaves differentiating it from C. trifaria var. trifaria , which is autoicous and lacks caducous leaves.

Specimens examined:— BRAZIL. Acre: Tarauacá, 8°30’84”S, 71°27’83”W, 19 November 1995, Costa 2654 ( RB) . Pernambuco: Caruaru , 950 m, 10 August 1998, Costa 3426 ( RB) . Rio de Janeiro: Santa Maria Madalena, Marquete 2383 ( RB) . São Paulo: Cubat „o, Núcleo Itutinga-Pilıes , 23°53’23”S, 46°29’51”W, 130 m, 19 October 2016, Prudêncio 178 ( RB) . COLOMBIA. Antioquia: Ituango , 7°14’8.07”N, 75°27’35.41”W, 197 m, 30 September 2015, Trujillo 7331 ( HUA) ; Puerto Nare , 552 m, May 2018, Ordoñez 852 ( HUA) ; San Carlos , 192 m, May 2018, Ordoñez 851 ( HUA) . Meta: Villavicencio, Vereda Santa María la Baja , 04°13’27”N, 73°38’10”W, 653 m, 06 April 2016, Gómez 937 ( LLANOS) . COSTA RICA. Heredia: Atlantic slope, near Vara Blanca, Svilha 45–640 ( NY) . Cartago: Atlantic slope, Turrialba , 870 feet, 10–12, October 1947, Svilha 47-769 ( NY) .

Figures

FIGURE 20. Cheilolejeunea trifaria var. clausa A-B. Cladographs of fertile plants (solid ellipse = androecia, open ellipse = gynoecia with perianth, U= gynoecia without perianth); C. Shoot in ventral view; D. Perianth; E. Shoot with androecia in ventral view; F. Leaf and lobule; G. Lobule; H. Ventral merophyte; I. Underleaf; J. Leaf lobe cells with trigones. Cheilolejeunea unciloba K. Cladograph of fertile plants (solid ellipse = androecia, open ellipse = gynoecia with perianth, U= gynoecia without perianth); L. Shoot in ventral view; M. Shoot with perianth in ventral view; N. Shoot with androecia in ventral view; O. Leaf and lobule; P. Ventral merophyte; Q. Apex of lobule; R. Leaf lobe cells with trigones. Cheilolejeunea xanthocarpa S. Cladograph of fertile plants (solid ellipse = androecia, open ellipse = gynoecia with perianth); T-U. Shoots in ventral view; V. Ventral merophyte with underleaf; W. Leaf and lobule; X. Lobule and border leaf; Y. Underleaf; Z. Leaf lobe cells with trigones.

FIGURE 21. Distribution of Cheilolejeunea trifaria var. clausa, C. unciloba and C. xanthocarpa in Pacific dominion and Páramo province.