Tropicos | Name - !Neckera urnigera Müll. Hal.

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!Neckera urnigera Müll. Hal.

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Project Name Data (Last Modified On 1/29/2014)

Acceptance : Accepted

Project data (Last Modified On 1/29/2014)

Discussion:

Neckera urnigera is a medium-sized to large moss found at mostly high elevations in Central and South America. In the Caribbean it occurs only on Hispaniola. It has complanate-foliate stems with paraphyllia present or absent, and oblong-lanceolate leaves that are asymmetric, distinctly undulate, and nearly always spreading when dry. The leaves are typically broadly acute, with margins broadly inflexed on one side and either narrowly recurved or plane on the other side. On the non-inflexed side, the leaves are straight to the insertions and long-decurrent. The alar cells on the non-inflexed side of the leaves are nearly undifferentiated, while those on the other side consist of 3–5 subrectangular, hyaline to light reddish cells. Neckera urnigera has exserted, stomatose capsules and peristomes, with the exostome teeth horizontally striate at base.

Neckera chilensis is the only other Central American species of Neckera with exserted capsules. The two species are very similar, but the leaves of N. chilensis differ from those of N. urnigera in being mostly erect-spreading rather than spreading. The leaves of the two species also differ in their alar regions. In N. chilensis the leaves on the non-inflexed side are subauriculate or rounded to the in-sertions, shortly decurrent, and the alar cells consist of 6–10 subquadrate, reddish yellow cells. Furthermore, the sporophytes of N. chilensis are somewhat larger than those of N. urnigera, with setae often 3 mm long and capsules nearly 2 mm long.

Neckera microcarpa was treated as a synonym of N. ehrenbergii by Wagner (1951), but Sastre (1987) and Smith (1994) considered it a synonym of N. urnigera. The type specimen in MO is ga-metophytically the same as N. urnigera. The MO specimen lacks sporophytes, but Bescherelle (1872) included it in the Neckera group with exserted capsules.

Illustrations: Thériot (1921, Fig. 6); Bartram (1949, Fig. 125 A–C); Sharp et al. (1994, Fig. 554); Buck (1998, Pl. 39 8–18). Figure 94.

Habitat: On tree and treelet trunks, branches, and twigs; 1400–3048 m.

Distribution in Central America:

GUATEMALA. Alta Verapaz: Standley 70010b (F, FH); Chi-maltenango: Standley 62030a (F, FH, MO); Jalapa: Clover 10199 (FH, MO); Quetzaltenango: Stand-ley 85511 (F, FH); Quiché: Sharp 2424 (FH, US); Sacatepéquez: Standley 63711 (F, FH); San Mar-cos: Sharp 5499 (MO). EL SALVADOR. Chalatenango: Sipman 37800 (NY); San Salvador: Munro et al. 2242 (BM, MO). HONDURAS. Comayagua: Olson 84-31b (MO); Cortés: Allen 14150 (MO); Francisco Morazán: Richards et al. 3543a (F); Lempira: Allen 11118 (MO); Olancho: Allen 12860 (MO); Santa Bárbara: Allen 11808 (MO). NICARAGUA. Matagalpa: Richards et al. 3756 (F). COSTA RICA. Alajuela: Crosby & Crosby 6289 (MO); Cartago: Dodge 3982 (FH); Heredia: Gómez 20056 (CR, MO, NY, US); San José: Crosby & Crosby 8568 (MO). PANAMA. Canal Area: Dodge 3982a (MO); Chiriquí: Nee 9925a (MO).

World Range: Mexico; Central America; Caribbean; Western, Northern, and Southern South America, Brazil.

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Plants medium-sized to large, 3–10 cm long, in usually flattened, pale green to yellowish green masses. Primary stems (stolons) creeping; rhizoids smooth, reddish brown, densely present on stolons and on secondary stems and branches when in contact with substrate; leaves erect, evenly foliate, 1–1.7 mm long. Secondary stems erect, horizontal or pendent, not stipitate, irregularly branched, complanate-foliate; secondary stems in cross section with sclerodermis of 3–4 rows of small, thick-walled cells, cortical cells enlarged, firm- to thick-walled, central strand absent; paraphyllia present or absent, uniseriate, less than 0.5 mm long; pseudoparaphyllia foliose. Secondary stem and branch leaves spreading, occasionally erect-spreading, undulate, oblong-lanceolate, 2.5–4.0 mm long, asym-metric, acute; margins subentire to serrulate, broadly inflexed on one side below, plane or narrowly recurved on other side, non-inflexed side long-decurrent and straight to the insertion; costae faint, short and double with one fork usually longer than the other; cells smooth, apical cells rhomboidal or long fusiform, 24–50 # 6–8 µm, firm- to thick-walled; basal cells linear-fusiform, 50–80 # 4–8 µm, thick-walled, often porose; alar cells not or very weakly differentiated, 1–3 subrectangular cells at the extreme alar angle, cells across the insertions yellow.Autoicous. Perichaetial leaves oblong-lanceolate, 2–3 mm long; costae short and double or absent. Setae 2.0–2.5 mm, smooth, yellow red. Capsules exserted, erect, cylindric, symmetric, 1.0–1.5 mm long; exothecial cells not strongly differentiated at mouth, those below short-rectangular, firm- or thick-walled; stomata on capsule base; opercula conic-rostrate, 0.5 mm long; annuli rudimentary, of several layers of thin-walled, persistent cells; peristome diplolepideous; exostome teeth whitish yellow, narrowly triangular, 0.4–0.5 mm long, dorsal (outer) surface cross-striate at base, papillose to smooth above, trabeculae and median line faintly developed, ventral (inner) surface smooth to weakly papillose, trabeculae well developed; endostome light yel-low, lightly papillose, basal membranes short, segments nearly as long as the exostome teeth, perfo-rate, not keeled, more strongly thickened on the ventral (inner) surface than on the dorsal (outer) surface, cilia rudimentary or absent. Spores 18–30 µm, densely papillose. Calyptrae cucullate, naked, smooth, 2.0 mm long.