Kurzia trichoclados (K. Müller) Grolle, Rev. Bryol. Lichenol.

Rawat, K. K., Sahu, Vinay, Verma, P. K. & Asthana, A. K., 2016, Kurzia trichoclados (Lepidoziaceae, Marchantiophyta) - A disjunct liverwort newly reported for India, Phytotaxa 261 (3), pp. 287-290 : 287-289

Kurzia trichoclados (K. Müller) Grolle, Rev. Bryol. Lichenol. 32: 171, 1963.

≡ Lepidozia trichoclados K. Müller, Hedwigia 38: 197, 1899.

≡ Telaranea trichoclados (K. Müller) K. Müller, Leberm. Eur. 6: 1138, 1956.

Type:— GERMANY: An Feldberg an Gesisfelsen : in oberen Zasftertale , ca. 780 m, 23.09.1899, K. Müller (Frib.) 683a (Isotype KR) .

Plants small, filiform, 1–2 cm long, up to 220 μm wide (with leaves), delicate, yellowish-green when fresh to dull brown when dry, prostrate to creeping, irregularly 1–2 pinnate, branching mostly Frullania - type, occasionally Microlepidozia - type, branches occasionally terminating into flagelliferous shoots with reduced leaves and numerous rhizoids. Stem 78–92 μm wide, filiform, 8–9 cells across diameter, differentiated, cortical layer consisting up to 12 cells rows, thick-walled, equal to slightly larger than medullary cells, 19–25×8–13μm in size; medullary cells up to 24, thin-walled, 16–24×10–15 μm in size. Leaves distant on main stem except near apex, contiguous to imbricate on branches and stem apex, transversely inserted, incurved, 240–320 μm long, 110–130 μm broad at base near attachment, 160–195μm broad near lobing, 3–4 lobed, lobes finger like, spreading, incurved, 5–7 cells long, 2–4 cells wide at base, uniseriate up to (1–)2(–3) cells terminally, leaf disc 2–3 cells high and 6–9 cells wide, occasionally with one tooth near base; cells oblong to subquadrate to rectangulate, thick-walled, trigones indistinct, terminal cell of lobe 25–36×10–13 μm in size, 2.5–3.6 times longer than wide at base, subapical cells 24–36×8–16 μm in size, median and basal cells 16–33×11–20 μm in size; cuticle verruculose, branch leaves usually 3- lobed otherwise similar to main stem leaves; underleaves smaller, similar to leaves, transversely inserted, incurved, concave, lobes often terminating in a hyaline papilla; branch underleaves 2–3 lobed, asymmetrical, one of the lobes aborted. Rhizoids few on main stem, numerous on flagelliferous shoots.

Dioecious. Female plants not found. Male inflorescence on very short branches on old portion of stem; bracts in 4–5 pairs, similar or larger than leaves, strongly incurved, concave, 2–3 lobed, with additional tooth like appendages, lobes ±twice as long as lamina, lamina 2–3 cells deep, apical cell of lobes acute, 22–38 μm long, 7–10 μm wide; antheridium one per bract.

Habitat: Occurring in subalpine areas on moist slopes amid Rhododendron in association with Anastrepta orcadensis (Hook.) Schiffn. (1893: 85) , Anastrophyllum donnianum (Hook.) Stephani (1893: 140) , A. alpinum Stephani (1917: 103) , Metacalypogeia alternifolia Grolle (1964: 185) , Lepidozia brevifolia Mitt. (1861: 104) , Calypogeia sp. , Lophozia sp. and mosses.

Specimens examined: INDIA: Sikkim-Thangu, near Chopta valley , N 27º54’22.6”, E 88º29’40.7”, ca. 4193 m; 27 April 2014; K.K. Rawat, 257359A1, 257359B2 ( LWG)

Distribution: Europe: Austria, Britain, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Iberian Peninsula, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Scandinavia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland ( Stieperaere and Schumacker 1986; Smith 1990; Casas 1998; Söderstörm et al. 2002, 2007; Casas et al. 2009). Asia: Thailand ( Kitagawa 1978). North America: Alaska ( Walton et al. 2013), British Columbia ( Hong 1988; Smith 1990).

The vegetative features of four Holarctic species of Kurzia sect. Microlepidozia (Spruce) R.M. Schust. (1980: 355) , viz. K. pauciflora (Dicks.) Grolle , K. makinoana Grolle , K. sylvetica (A. Evans) Grolle (1973:73) and K. trichoclados are so strikingly similar that Hattori and Mizutani (1958) not only speculated conspecificity of European K. trichloclados with K. makinoana but also reduced Lepidozia sylvetica A. Evans [= Kurzia sylvetica ], Lepidozia setacea Auct. [= K. pauciflora ] to K. makinoana . However, Schuster (1980) clearly separated all four species using differences in the bracts and perianth morphology, a treatment followed by subsequent workers ( Smith 1990; Casas et al. 2009). Kurzia tennerima (Mitt.) Grolle (another Indian endemic species) with its strikingly similar vegetative morphology seems to be either a member of this group or conspecific to K. trichoclados as suggested by Kitagawa (1978), who also speculated a disjunctive range of distribution of K. trichoclados . However, Kitagawa (1978) differentiated K. tenerrima on the basis of narrower leaf lobes, mostly terminating in a uniseriate portion of 3 cells and below, 2–3 biseriate tiers. However, he emphasized the need of more Himalayan samples to be studied before coming to any conclusion about the conspecificity of K. tenerrima and K. trichoclados . Sharma and Srivastava (1993) while working on Indian Kurzia , studied the type of K. tenerrima and treated it as an independent species. Though the illustrations and description of K. tenerrima by Sharma and Srivastava (1993) closely resemble K. trichoclados in vegetative features, confusion prevails due to absence of fertile material in the type that they studied. Hence, in the absence of sporophytic details of K. tenerrima , molecular studies are needed to reach any conclusion regarding the conspecificity of the above two taxa.

Similarly, K. trichoclados very closely approaches K. pauciflora in overall general morphology. Yet, these two species can be separated on the basis of bract and perianth morphology. In K. pauciflora the male bracts are strongly incurved with obtuse apical cell while in K. trichoclados the male bracts have acute apical cells. Similarly, the female bracts have uniseriate cilia up to 9 cells long in K. pauciflora while in K. trichoclados the female bracts have denticulations 1–3 cells long ( Smith 1990; Casas et al. 2009).