Palhinhaea pendulina (Hook.) Holub (1985: 79)

Øllgaard, Benjamin, 2020, Lycopodiaceae in Colombia: Subfamilies Lycopodioideae and Lycopodielloideae, Phytotaxa 433 (3), pp. 195-224 : 215

Palhinhaea pendulina (Hook.) Holub (1985: 79) .— Fig. 8 .

Lycopodium pendulinum Hooker (1837: t. 90).— Lycopodium cernuum L. var. pendulinum (Hook.) Baker (1887: 23) .— Lycopodiella pendulina (Hook.) Øllgaard (1987: 176) . TYPE: PERU: Casapi, Matthews 1776 (K holotype).

Plants with short to long, robust, shallowly arching-looping runner shoots, rooting at soil contact, bearing erect, dorsally arising, to ca 40 cm tall, amply branched, tree-like shoots. Erect branches with several subdecussate to upward alternate, sparsely subequally branched, to 12 (–20) cm long, usually long pendulous lateral branchlet systems. Leaves of main axes loosely appressed, upward curved, 5–7 mm long, to 1 mm wide. Ultimate branchlets (3–) 5–6 (–9) mm in diam. incl. leaves, rarely tapering to 2 mm in diam. Branchlet leaves borne in densely crowded alternating whorls or low spirals of 5–7, forming 10–14 indistinct longitudinal ranks, acicular, terete to quadrangular, or sometimes apically flattened, (3–) 4–6 × to 1 mm wide, patent-ascending, upward curved, softly to firmly herbaceous, glabrous, or with few marginal cilia. Leaf bases and stem surfaces usually glabrous, rarely with short crisped hairs. Strobili 10–20 mm long, 5–6 mm in diam. Sporophylls borne in alternating whorls of 5–6, forming 10–12 longitudinal ranks, with (2.5–) 3–3.5 × ca 1.5 mm wide, lanceolate-ovate, short acuminate exterior face, with irregularly dentate, very narrowly membranous margins, greenish, of herbaceous texture throughout. Sporangia globose, ca 1 mm in diam.

Distribution: Costa Rica, Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia.

Habitats: Open spaces or clearings in the upper montane forest and wet, low páramos, 2200–3600 m elev.

Notes: Palhinhaea pendulina is related to P. glaucescens , but distinguished from the latter by its stiffly erect dorsally arising main shoots with thick, weeping branchlet systems and large strobili.

Antioquia: 10 km E of Sonsón, 2700 m, Scholnik et al. s. n. (BM). Alto de La Vieja, near Sonsón, 2700 m, Daniel, Bro. 1694 ( US). Road San José de la Montaña –Toledo, km 12, 2720 m, Santa , et al. 475 ( US). Bolívar: Below páramo de Chaquiro, Cord. Occidental, 2900–3100 m, Pennell 4338 (NY). Cauca: Páramo de Puracé, 8 km E of Puracé, 25 km E of Popayan, 3000–3300 m, Tryon & Tryon 5974 ( US). Andes of Popoyan, Lehmann 6971 (K). Road Totoró–Inzá, W slope of Cordillera Central, Páramo de Las Delicias–Inzá, 3100 m, Santa et al 974 (AAU, COL, HUA). Road Totoró–Inzá, W slope of Cordillera Central, ascending to Páramo de Las Delicias, 3080 m, Santa et al 984 (AAU, COL, HUA, MEDEL). Km 35 along Coconuco road just outside entrance to Parque Nacional Puracé, 2987 m, Luteyn 6929 (AAU). Cundinamarca: Road La Vega–Facatativá, 2700 m, Haught 6151 ( US). Summit of Cord. Helicona, 13 km SE of Gachalá, 15 km NW of Medina, 2930 m, Grant 10251 ( US). Nariño: Mun. Pasto, El EncanoPáramo de Quillinsayaco, 3100 m, Santa & Buitrago 935 (AAU, COL, HUA).

Figures

FIGURE 8. Palhinhaea pendulina A: (Ecuador: Øllgaard & Baslev 9442, AAU), growth habit B: Growth habit in habitat (Ecuador: Øllgaard & Balslev 9573, AAU).