Tropicos | Name - !Barbula convoluta Hedw.

Cent. Amer. Moss > Pottiaceae > Barbula > Barbula convoluta

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!Barbula convoluta Hedw.

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Project Name Data (Last Modified On 2/15/2011)

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Project data (Last Modified On 2/15/2011)

Discussion: Barbula convoluta, widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, reaches the southern extent of its New World range in Costa Rica. The species is marked by its broadly rounded to obtuse leaves, subpercurrent costae, greatly enlarged, convolute-sheathing perichaetial leaves, and yellow setae. Barbula convoluta is similar to B. indica in leaf shape, cell areolation, and peristome development. In general Central American material of B. convoluta differs from B. indica in having more broadly obtuse, non-apiculate leaves. This last attribute, however, is variable in B. convoluta, e.g., in North America the species has minutely apiculate leaves (Crum & Anderson 1981). The best features for distinguishing the two species are found on the upper, dorsal surface of the costa. In B. indica the cells in this region are quadrate to rounded and bear multiplex to c-shaped papillae. In contrast, B. convoluta has short-rectangular upper, dorsal costal cells that have simple papillae. Furthermore, the papillose costal cells of B. convoluta extend nearly to the base of the leaf while those of B. indica are usually restricted to the upper half of the leaf.

Illustrations: Grout (1904, Pl. 28); Saito (1975, Fig. 48); Crum and Anderson (1981, Fig. 152 A–H); Zander (1981a, Pl. 2 1–4); Ireland (1982, Pl. 115); Crum (1983, Pl. 38 a–g); Noguchi (1988, Fig. 128 A); Sharp et al. (1994, Fig. 216); Abramov and Volkova (1998, Fig. 47 1–13); Allen (2000, Fig. 1). Figure 9.

Habitat: On burnt soil in exposed areas; 2010 m.

Distribution in Central America: HONDURAS. Comayagua: Allen 13757 (MO, TEFH). COSTA RICA. Puntarenas: Gómez et al. 21657 (CR, MO, NY).

World Range: Subarctic America, Western and Eastern Canada, Northwestern, North-Central, Northeastern, Southwestern, and South-Central U.S.A.; Mexico; Central America; Northern, Middle, East, Southwestern, and Southeastern Europe; Siberia, Russian Far East, Caucasus, Middle Asia, Mongolia, China, Eastern Asia, Western Asia; Northern Africa, East and South Tropical Africa; New Zealand.

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Barbula convoluta Hedw., Sp. Musc. Frond. 120. 1801.

Tortula convoluta (Hedw.) Gaertn. et al., Oekon. Fl. Wetterau 3(2): 92. 1802. Streblotrichum convolutum (Hedw.) P.-Beauv., Prodr. Aethéogam. 89. 1805. Protologue: Germany, France, Switzerland, England. Ad aggeres et fossas Germaniae, Galliae, Helvetiae, Angliae.

Plants small, yellow-green above, brown below, in tufts, 2–5 mm high. Stems red, erect, irregularly branched, sclerodermis and central strand present; rhizoids distributed at base of stems, red, smooth. Axillary hairs 5–7 cells long, all cells hyaline. Leaves 1–1.6 mm long, oblong-ligulate to oblong-lanceolate, or lingulate, crowded on stem, erect-incurved, contorted or spirally twisted when dry, erect-spreading to spreading when wet, grooved along the costa on ventral surface, ventral epidermal cells elongate; apices rounded obtuse to broadly acute, not apiculate; lamina unistratose; margins entire, recurved below, plane above; costa ending 6–8 cells below the apex, papillose at back on dorsal surface by simple papillae, guide cells well-developed, ventral stereid band absent or weakly developed, dorsal stereid bands well-developed, ventral surface layer not enlarged; upper cells rounded quadrate, subquadrate, or oblate, 7–10 μm, firm-walled, densely pluripapillose by massive, compound papillae, inner basal cells oblong, short to long-rectangular, firm-walled, smooth, 20–40 x 8–16 μm, alar cells not differentiated. Dioicous. Perichaetia leaves convolute-sheathing, greatly enlarged. Setae smooth, 10–20 mm long, yellow to yellow-brown. Capsules cylindrical, erect, 1–2 mm long, smooth; exothecial cells short-rectangular, firm-walled; stomata in neck; opercula erect, long-rostrate, 1–1.5 mm long; annuli well-developed, vesiculose; peristome red, basal membrane high, teeth spirally twisted, to 1 mm long, densely spiculose. Spores 6–8 μm, smooth. Calyptrae cucullate, smooth, to 2.0 mm long.