Tropicos | Name - Mironia elongata (Wilson ex Mitt.) B.H. Allen

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Mironia elongata (Wilson ex Mitt.) B.H. Allen

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Project Name Data (Last Modified On 2/16/2011)

Acceptance : Accepted

Project data (Last Modified On 2/16/2011)

Discussion:

Mironia elongata has been treated as a variety of M. ehrenbergiana (Zander 1978, 1993, 1994a) which differs from M. elongata in having smaller leaves with broadly acute, intact apices, shorter basal leaf cells, dentate upper leaf margins, consistently unistratose leaf laminae, and excurrent costae. The species, however, appears to be closer to M. crassicuspis since both species have leaves with swollen, caducous tips and are otherwise morphologically similar. Mironia crassicuspis differs from M. elongata in its smaller leaves and shorter basal leaf cells. As noted by Bartram (1955) the leaf apices of M. elongata are exceedingly brittle.

Illustrations: Zander (1978, Figs. 45–46). Figure 56.

Habitat: On bark; 2950–3300 m.

Distribution in Central America: COSTA RICA. San José: Crosby 9813 (MO). PANAMA. Chiriquí: McPherson 9477 (MO).

World Range: Central America; Western South America.

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Mironia elongata (Wils. in Mitt.) Allen, comb. nov.

Barbula elongata Wils. in Mitt., Hooker’s J. Bot. Kew Gard. Misc. 3: 51. 1851. Tortula elongata (Wils. in Mitt.) Mitt., J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 12: 164. 1869, hom. illeg. Morinia ehrenbergiana var. elongata (Wils. in Mitt.) Zand., Bryologist 81: 557. 1978. Mironia ehrenbergiana var. elongata (Wils. in Mitt.) Zand., Bull. Buffalo Soc. Nat. Hist. 32: 112. 1993. Protologue: Ecuador. Locality not given, Jameson 7.

Morinia ecuadorensis Bartr., Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.), Bot. 2(2): 55. 1955. Protologue: Ecuador. San Juan, Paramo, on rock by stream, 3,505 m., 25^th April, 1951; [Bell] 727.

Plants medium- to large-sized, reddish green above to reddish brown below to 25 mm high. Stems red to reddish yellow, irregularly branched, sclerodermis and central strand present, rhizoids red, smooth, at base and scattered on stems. Intact leaves 4–5 mm long, leaves without caducous apices 3.0–3.5 mm long, erect-sheathing at base, stiffly erect to erect-incurved, twisted when dry, spreading-recurved when wet, oblong-lanceolate; lamina unistratose or irregularly bistratose above; apices acuminate, leaf tips enlarged, thickened, caducous; margins bistratose, recurved to base of caducous tips, entire or sinuate, not bordered, somewhat decurrent at base; costa subpercurrent, smooth at back, ventral surface cells rectangular, pluripapillose, guide cells, small ventral substereid, and dorsal substereid to stereid bands present, upper ventral surface layer somewhat enlarged, papillose; upper cells 4–12 x 6–12 μm, firm-walled, oblate, irregularly quadrate hexagonal or short-rectangular, densely pluripapillose by thick, c-shaped papillae, basal cells smooth to lightly pluripapillose, rectangular, with thin, firm to bulging walls, 44–120 x 8–14 μm, alar cells not differentiated. Dioicous. Sporophytes unknown.