Phlegmariurus acerosus (Sw.) B.Øllg., Rodriguésia

Øllgaard, Benjamin, Boudrie, Michel & Cremers, Georges, 2020, The Lycopodiaceae of Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, Phytotaxa 433 (2), pp. 101-134 : 112-114

1. Phlegmariurus acerosus (Sw.) B.Øllg., Rodriguésia 63(2): 480. 2012.— Lycopodium acerosum Sw. , Flora Indiae Occidentalis 3: 1575. 1806.— Urostachys acerosus (Sw.) Herter ex Nessel, Arch. Bot. Est. S. Paulo 1: 399. 1927.— Huperzia acerosa (Sw.) Holub, Folia Geobot. Phytotax. 20: 70. 1985. Lectotype:— Plumier, Tr. Foug. Amér., t. 166B (1705), designated by Proctor (1977: 25). Epitype:— MARTINIQUE: Surian 635 (P-Herb. Surian), designated by Christenhusz (2009: 221). Fig. 6A .

Plants slender, flaccidly pendulous, at least to 70 cm long. Shoots usually gradually heterophyllous, sometimes homophyllous, 3–6 mm in diam. incl. the leaves in basal divisions, tapering to 1–3(–6) mm in terminal divisions. Stems excl. leaves 0.6–1 mm thick at the base, tapering to ca 0.3–0.5 mm upward, somewhat concealed by the leaves, pale greenish to stramineous, at least to 10 times dichotomous, usually densely, unilaterally or omnilaterally sporangiate in separate, periodically produced zones of the terminal divisions, or continuously sporangiate from 15–30 cm above the base and upward. Leaves gradually modified along the stems. Leaves of basal divisions densely crowded, borne in irregular alternating whorls of 6–7, these 0.5–2 mm apart, forming 12–14 indistinct longitudinal ranks, ascending and upward curved to appressed or somewhat secund, acicular-filiform, narrowly and prominently decurrent, 3.5–5 × 0.2–0.4 mm wide just above the widened base, soft herbaceous to subcoriaceous, convex below, canaliculate above, with involute margins. Vegetative leaves of terminal constricted divisions borne in irregular whorls of 4–6, these 0.5–2 mm apart, forming 8–12 indistinct longitudinal ranks, ascending to closely appressed, acicular-filiform to linear-lanceolate, 2–4 mm long, otherwise conform. Sporophylls borne in irregular, alternating whorls of 3–5, conform, or shorter and wider, linear-lanceolate and long acuminate to lanceolate, usually appressed, 1.5–4 × 0.3–0.8 mm, rounded to subcarinate abaxially. Sporangia 0.7–1 mm in diam.

Distribution:— Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Saba, St. Kitts, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, Grenada, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Trinidad, French Guiana, Bolivia, southeastern Brazil and Argentina.

Habitat:—Epiphytic, and sometimes epilithic in montane and cloud forest, 300–2000 m elev.

Specimens examined:—FRENCH GUIANA: Mont Itoupé—Sommet Tabulaire—16, sommet nord, layon D, 780 m elev., 03°02’18”N, 53°05’21”W, Tostain et al. 5973 (AAU, CAY, P, US).

Figures

FIGURE 6. A. Phlegmariurus acerosus—(Ecuador, Holdridge 1652, US). A. Growth habit. A1. Close-up of basal division. A2. Closeup of sporangiate division.—B. Phlegmariurus capillaris—(Colombia, Hartweg 1464, P). B. Growth habit. B1. Close-up of sporangiate division.—C. Phlegmariurus dichotomus—(Ecuador, Holdridge 1654, GH). C. Growth habit. C1. Close-up of sporangiate division. Drawing by B. Johnsen.