Riccardia stipatiflora (Steph.) Pagán

Reeb, Catherine, Bernard, Elisabeth Lavocat & Gradstein, S. Robbert, 2022, An integrative taxonomic revision of Aneuraceae H. Klinggr. (Marchantiophyta) from Guadeloupe and Martinique, French West Indies, Cryptogamie, Bryologie 20 (8), pp. 135-152 : 146

Riccardia stipatiflora (Steph.) Pagán

( Fig. 4 A-F)

Aneura stipatiflora Steph. , Hedwigia 32: 27 (1893). — Riccardia stipatiflora (Steph.) Pagán , The Bryologist 45: 81 (1942). — Type: Martinique. A. Duss 56 (lecto-, designated here, G[G00066691]! c.gyn., labeled “original”). Martinique. A. Duss s.n. (syn-?,G[G00282037]! c.andr., labeled “original”).

SPECIMENS EXAMINED FROM THE FRENCH ANTILLES. — Guadeloupe. Matouba, rivière Rouge, A. Duss 182 (NY[611574]), 457 (NY), det. Pagán as A. subsimplex ; Matouba, Montagne de la Madeleine, 600-900 m, 1897-1900, A. Duss 207 (NY[611572]), 318 (NY), 319 (NY), 398 (NY); Ravine Citerne (haut), 16°02’08”N, 61°39’31”W, 1100 m, 31.V.2003, Lavocat Bernard 460; Trace Karukera, 16°02’18”N, 61°38’55”W, 850 m, 28.II.2012, Lavocat Bernard 1600, 1601; Carbet Falls, 16°02’50”N, 61°38’49”W, 880 m, 3.VI.2012, Lavocat Bernard 1680, 1708; National Park of Guadeloupe, La Madeleine Trois Rivières, 16°10’N, 61°38’W, 600 m, 14.VIII.2015, Reeb & Bernard J.F. CR15G7; Chutes du Carbet, access path, 16°02’33”N, 61°38’26”W, 650 m, Reeb & Lavocat Bernard CR13G22.

Martinique. Rivière du Lorrain, 1899, A. Duss 182a, det. Pagán as A. subsimplex (NY[611573]); Montagne Pelée, camp de l’Alma, Deux choux, 600-1000 m, A. Duss 74 (NY[611571]), 131 (NY), 140 (NY), 325 (NY); Montagne Pelée, 14°48’23.9”N, 61°09’24.7”W, 1060 m, 29.V.2016, Lavocat Bernard 16501.

DISTRIBUTION. — In the West Indies reported from Cuba (type of R. subsimplex ), Dominica ( Stephani 1900; Schäfer-Verwimp 2010) and Guadeloupe and Martinique ( Lavocat Bernard & Schäfer-Verwimp 2011).

HABITAT. — On trees, soil and rocks in humid forests from 600 to 1100 m.

REMARKS

Riccardia stipatiflora is an autoicous species with a firm texture, a rather deep green color and a prostrate, regularly 1-2-pinnate, to 2 cm long, unwinged thallus with basal stolons and with long, linear, unwinged branches. An unusual feature of the species is that the gametoecia are often produced on the stolons (hence the name “ stipatiflora ”). The main axis is biconvex in cross section and the branches biconvex to plano-convex; the ultimate branches are often curved. The male branches are bordered by a 1-2 cells wide wing and the female branches have long hairy cilia. The specimen G00066691 is chosen as the lectotype because it has gynoecia, which were described in the protologue. The specimen G00282037, annotated by Stephani as “Original”, is treated as a tentative syntype because the plants are male and androecia were not mentioned in the protologue. The male branches in this syntype are very long, of up to 22 pairs of antheridia, circinately curved and positioned on the stolons. Meenks (unpubl.) described the male branches as being only 1-4 pairs of androecia long based on material from Cuba. The molecular analysis shows a well defined cluster of R. stipatiflora ( Figs 1 ; 2 ).

Figures

FIG. 4. — Riccardia stipatiflora (Steph.) Pagán:A, thallus mat;B, isolated thallus from A.Duss 56 and ELB17603; C, female branches from A. Duss 56; D, male branch from ELB17603; E, main axis cross section from A. Duss 56; F, ultimate branch cross section from A. Duss 56. Riccardia schwaneckei (Steph.) Pagán: G, K, thallus mats on the field; H, ultimate branch apex; I, main axis cross section; J, ultimate branch cross section; L, M, branching patterns from ELB1599. Scale bars: A-D, K-M, 1 mm; E, F, H-J, 500 µm.

FIG. 1. — Species delimitation results plotted in regards of the Bayesian tree obtained with Beast for the GMYC analysis. Posterior probabilities> 0.9 were kept. The number for species proposed by each method is given in the highest line. Final species hypothesis are plotted on the right. Specimens from West Indies are colored in red. Abbreviations: ECU, Ecuador; REU, La Réunion; FRA, France; MAD, Madagascar; GLP, Guadeloupe; SHN, Saint Helena; MTQ, Martinique; USA, United States; COM, Comoros; IDN, Indonesia; UGA, Uganda; BES, Saba.

FIG. 2. — Conspecificity matrix built with COMA.Specimens from West Indies are colored in red and blue; species recorded in West Indies are colored in yellow; specimens outside of West Indies are colored in black; species not recorded in West Indies are colored in white.