Pseudolycopodiella meridionalis (Underw. & F.E. Lloyd) Holub (1983: 442)

Øllgaard, Benjamin, 2020, Lycopodiaceae in Colombia: Subfamilies Lycopodioideae and Lycopodielloideae, Phytotaxa 433 (3), pp. 195-224 : 220-222

Pseudolycopodiella meridionalis (Underw. & F.E. Lloyd) Holub (1983: 442) .— Fig. 10 .

Lycopodiella caroliniana (L.) Pichi-Sermolli var. meridionalis (Underw. & F.E. Lloyd) Øllgaard & Windisch (1987: 27) .— Lycopodium meridionale Underwood & Lloyd (1906: 121) .— Lycopodium carolinianum L. var. meridionalis Nessel (1927: 431) . Type: PUERTO RICO: Dry savannahs, Luquillo Mountains, Percy Wilson 94 (NY! holotype, US, isotype).

Plants with horizontal stems creeping and firmly rooted throughout, bearing one to few, dorsally arising, stiffly erect, simple, strobilus-bearing branches (peduncles). Creeping shoots to ca. 30 cm long, sparsely and unequally branched, 7–12 (–15) mm wide including leaves, 1–2 mm thick excluding leaves, anisophyllous, with long and wide lateral leaves, and usually shorter and narrower dorsal leaves; lateral leaves 3–5 (–7) × (1–) 1.5–2.5 (–3) mm at the base, varying from broadly triangular-ovate to lanceolate (sometimes in the same individual), obliquely spreading to falcately recurved, usually with a strongly curved, underlying acroscopic margin, and short to long-decurrent basiscopic margins, tapering into an acute to long pointed apex, flat, with smooth margins. Dorsal leaves arranged in (1–) 2–4 longitudinal ranks (often on the same individual), broadly lanceolate to subulate (rarely triangular-ovate), diverging to appressed, straight to upward curved, (1.5–) 3–4 (–5) × 1–1.3 (–2) mm wide at the base. Erect branches at least to 30 cm tall incl. the strobilus, 1–1.5 mm thick excl. leaves, terete, bearing small, 3–5 mm long, acicular leaves in remote, alternating, spirals or irregular whorls of 4–5, these 4–8 mm apart. Strobili to at least 13 cm long, 3–5 mm thick with appressed sporophylls, 8–10 (–12) mm in diam. incl. spreading sporophyll tips. Sporophylls borne in alternating whorls of 4 or 5 (–6), forming 8–10 (–12) longitudinal ranks, subpeltate, with a thin, median, basiscopic, decurrent wing; the exterior face rhombic or ovate-acuminate or ovate-cuspidate to triangular-lanceolate, 3.5–6 × (1–) 1.5–2 (–2.5) mm, with subscarious, entire to erose-denticulate, minutely fimbriate-denticulate margins. Sporangia reniform, isovalvate, borne on the sporophyll stalk, ca. 1.5–2 mm wide.

Distribution: Widely distributed in tropical America, but rare in the Andes.

Central America, Greater and Lesser Antilles, Venezuela, The Guianas, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina.

Habitats: Terrestrial or sometimes rupestral, usually on wet ground, on road banks, slopes, ledges, grasslands, from sea level to ca. 2800 m.

Amazonas: Araracuara airport, Río Caquetá, Sastre & Raichel 4970 ( US). Antioquia: Termales de Santo Domingo, 1200 m, Scolnik et al. 19An516 (C). Mun. San Vicente, ”Chaparral”, 2200–2500 m, Santa 538 (AAU, COL, HUA). Guatapé–San Rafael, 1890 m, Santa & Vallejo 1074 (AAU). Antioquia, 75°31’W 7°05’N, 1740 m, Madison 1399 (GH). Cauca: W of Tambo, road near La Venta, 1800 m, Haught 5274 (COL, F, NY, S, US). Cañitas, quebrada de Corinto, André 2735 (NY). Chocó: Quibdó, río Atrato, 60 m, Archer 1814 ( US). Near Quibdó, 80 m, Quibdó–Medellin road, Gentry & Fallen l7887 (MO). N of Quibdó, 55 m, Mägdefrau 1485 (COL). Nariño: Las Cruces, 400 m, Alston 8540 (AAU). Valle del Cauca: Punta Magdalena, 0 m, Haught 5586 (COL, S, US). Vaupés: Río Kuduyari, tributary of Río Vaupés, Yapobodá, 70°30’W 1°20’N, 275–300 m, Schultes & Cabrera 19979 (K, M, SI, UC). Río Kuduyari, tributary of Río Vaupés, Yapobodá, 70°30’W 1°20’N, 450 m, Schultes & Cabrera 14230 (COL). Río Karurú, tributariy of Río Vaupés, Mesa de Yambí, 275–300 m, Schultes & Cabrera 19142 (COL, US). Yapobodá, Allen 3191 (MO, US). Mitú and vicinity, Rio Paranaì-pichuna, sandstone savanna at major rapids, Zarucchi 1352 (GH, K, MO). Vichada: 12 km NE of San José de Ocuné, Río Vichada, 100 m, Hermann 11055 (COL, US).

Figures

FIGURE 10. A1: Pseudolycopodiella meridionalis (Brazil: Dusén 17492, S), growth habit. A2: Close-up of creeping shoot. A3: Sporophyll.