Phlegmariurus wilsonii (Underwood & F.E Lloyd) B. Øllgaard (2012a: 481)

Øllgaard, Benjamin & Testo, Weston, 2021, The Lycopodiaceae of Panamá, Phytotaxa 526 (1), pp. 1-66 : 45-46

. ­­­ Phlegmariurus wilsonii (Underwood & F.E Lloyd) B. Øllgaard (2012a: 481) . Fig. 20

Lycopodium wilsonii Underwood & F.E Lloyd (1906: 111) .— Urostachys wilsonii (Underwood & F.Lloyd) Herter (1923: 163) .— Huperzia wilsonii (Underwood & F.E Lloyd) B.Øllgaard (1987: 170) . Type:— PUERTO RICO: Luquillo Mountains, Wilson 153 (NY lectotype, here designated). Note: According to the protolog the type is Wilson 271, but Wilson 153 (NY) is annotated by the author as sp. nov. and fits the description, while Wilson 271 (NY) is Phlegmariurus dichotomus and is not ­­­ annotated as sp. nov.

Lycopodium andinum Herter (1909a: 49) non Rosenstock (1908: 239).— Lycopodium lindavianum Herter (1909b: 90) .— Urostachys lindavianus (Herter) Nessel (1939: 146) .— Huperzia lindaviana (Herter) Holub (1985: 74) . Type:— ECUADOR: “In territorio rei publ. Ecuador”, Fraser s.n. (P [Herb. Drake] lectotype, designated by Øllgaard 1988: 97; isotype, G).

Lycopodium trichodendron Herter (1909a: 49) .— Urostachys trichodendron (Herter) Herter (1923: 163) . Type:— GUADELOUPE: L’Herminier s. n. (P00559253), Bory 103 (P00559254, syntypes).

Lycopodium stamineum Maxon (1912: 2) .— Urostachys stamineus (Maxon) Nessel (1939: 148) . Type:— PANAMÁ. Chiriquí: Upper Caldera watershed, betrween Camp I and the Divide, Holcombs Trail, above El Boquete, ca. 1750 m, Maxon 5636 ( US 676085 holotype).

Lycopodium arcanum Maxon (1938: 310) . Type:— HONDURAS: Comayagua, above El Achiote, above plains of Siguatepeque, 1800 m, Yuncker, Dawson & Youse 6149 ( US holotype).

Urostachys mandiocanus (Raddi) Herter var. filifolius Herter (1954: 124) . Type:— ECUADOR: Eastern slope of eastern cordillera, bank of Palora river, 1500 m, Rimbach 125 ( US holotype).

Plants erect, arcuate-spreading to pendulous, to 20 (–30) cm long. Shoots homophyllous, 1.5–2.5 (–3) cm in diameter including leaves, equally thick throughout, or in some slender individuals gradually tapering to 1–1.5 cm in terminal divisions. Stems excluding leaves (1–) 1.5–2 (–3) mm thick at the base, often tapering to (0.7–) 1 mm, prominently ridged by decurrent leaf bases, pale green to stramineous, often with bright red spots on leaf bases, sporangiate, often in seasonally produced zones, from 5–15 cm above the base and upward, 3–6 (–9) times dichotomous. Leaves usually uniform throughout, borne in alternating, often irregularly oblique whorls of 6–7, these 0.5–1.5 mm apart in basal divisions, upward often in whorls of 4–5, forming 8–14 indistinct longitudinal ranks, perpendicularly spreading to ascending, straight to upward curved, usually not twisted at the base, linear to filiform, (6–) 10–17 × 0.3–0.5 mm, quickly narrowed to ca. 0.2 mm wide due to involution, gradually tapering toward the tip, adaxially canaliculate to involute, often with a prominent vein abaxially near the base. Leaves of terminal divisions in old plants sometimes gradually reduced to 6(–4) mm long. Decurrent leaf bases usually not wider than the lamina base, often bright red. Sporangia 1–1.5 mm wide.

­­­ Distribution:— Mexico (Oaxaca) to Panamá, West Indies, northern South America south to Bolivia, Brazil (Mato Grosso).

­­­ Habitats: —Epiphytic (rarely terrestrial) in montane forest, elev. 900–1900 m elev. Usually an erect epiphyte, but sometimes becoming pendulous when very large; often with bright red, but usually not prominent leaf bases.

­­­ Notes:— Phlegmariurus wilsonii is related to P. dichotomus , P.mandiocanus ( Raddi 1819: 280) B. Øllgaard (2012a: 480) from Brazil, and P. pithyoides (Schld. & Cham.) B.Øllgaard from Central America, Hispaniola, Colombia, and Venezuela. With these it shares the bottle-brush-like aspect, and with the latter two the bright red coloration of the leaf bases. Pendulous individuals of P. wilsonii are rather similar to P. polycarpos , but the latter has shorter, more flattened, leaves, and uniformly falcate leaves due to a basal twist, and this species apparently is always pendulous. Pendulous individuals of P. wilsonii may be separated from P. watsonianus by the lack of auricles at the lamina base.

The absence or presence of red colour on the leaf bases seems uncorrelated with other characters. The intensity and size of the coloration is also variable. The direction of leaves is correlated to growth habit. In erect-growing plants the leaves are wide-spreading to slightly reflexed, while in pendent plants the leaves are somewhat ascending.

Specimens­­­ studied:—Chiriquí: Bajo Chorro, Boquete, 1830 m, Davidson 230 (F, MO, US). Palo Alto, 4.5 mi NE of Boquete, forest along W branch of headwaters of Río Palo Alto, 1920 m, Hammel 7304 (MO). Above El Boquete, 1750 m, Maxon 5636 ( US). Along trail between north fork of Río Palo Alto and Cerro Pate Macho, ca. 6 km NE of Boquete, 1600–2000 m, Smith 2414 (UC). Camino campamento de Fortuna sitio de presa—Trocha 3 de noviembre, entre Santa María y Pinola, 1000–1200 m, Correa et al. 2926 (PMA). Parque Nacional Volcán Barú, Alto Chiquero, 893 m, Mello-Silva et al. 3350 (PMA).