Frullania tamarisci (L.) Dumort. var. azorica J.-P.Frahm (subg. Frullania) is described as new from the islands of Terceira and Pico (Azores, Portugal). It resembles var. tamarisci, but differs in longly apiculate, incurved leaf apex ending in an unicellular tip and not decurrent underleaves

Frahm, Jan-Peter

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101TROPICAL BRYOLOGY 27  (2006)Frullania tamarisci var. azoricaTropical Bryology 27: 101-105, 2006Frullania tamarisci var. azorica (Jubulaceae, Marchantiopsida),a new taxon from the AzoresJan-Peter FrahmNees-Institut für Biodiversität der Pflanzen, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität,Meckenheimer Allee 170, 53115 Bonn, GermanyAbstract: Frullania tamarisci (L.) Dumort. var. azorica J.-P.Frahm (subg. Frullania) is describedas new from the islands of Terceira and Pico (Azores, Portugal). It resembles var. tamarisci, butdiffers in longly apiculate, incurved leaf apex  ending in an unicellular tip and not decurrentunderleaves.In August 2004, I spent two weeks of holidayson the islands of Terceira and Pico in the Azores.Amongst the specimens I collected during thistrip were some new records of species, whichwere published separately (Frahm 2005a). Somespecimens still withstand the identification, sincethese (especially pleurocarpous mosses) arepossibly not European species but maybe tropicalones or perhaps also endemics. Endemics arehere regarded as palaeoendemics, relicts of thebryoflora of continental Europe in the Tertiary,which survived here on the MakaronesianIslands. This effect is indicated by the generaEchinodium and Andoa, which are known asfossils from the Tertiary of Europe, but presentlyleft over only in the Macaronesian Islands.One of the unidentified liverworts was aFrullania. The plants are very conspicuous atfirst glance in view upon the dorsal side becauseof the incurved leaf apices, which end in a longfine acumen. They were collected several timeson top of Serra de Santa Barbara in Terceira andonce in Pico. Pictures viz. specimens of thistaxon were sent to J. Vana, S. Robbert Gradstein,Tamas Pócs, Alfons Schäfer-Verwimp orManuela Sim-Sim, specialist on MacaronesianFrullania species. The colleagues had either noopinion on this specimen, confirmed that it is aspecies not known from Europe, regarded it asan tropical species or included the specimen intothe large variability of F. tamarisci.  Theacuminate-apiculate leaf lobules clearly place thespecimens in Frullania sect. Tamariscinae, butthe question is whether these specimen belonginto the variability of F. tamarisci, represent aninfraspecific taxon of the latter, a speciesdescribed from overseas or a new hithertooverlooked species.102TROPICAL BRYOLOGY 27  (2006)FrahmThe variability of  Frullania tamarisci is treatedin several publications (Müller 1958, Grolle1970, Hattori 1972, Bisang et al. 1989). Müller(1958) described the species as verypolymorphous and distinguishes five varietiesexcept for the typical variety in Europe andMacaronesia:var. robusta Lindbg. with evolute lobules andalmost lacking ocelli.var. sardoa De Not. with long teeth at base ofthe underleaves.var. mediterranea De Not. = var. atlanticaSchiffn. with blunt leaves and round underleavesand almost lacking ocelli.var. cornubica Carr. with acute leaves andlacking, scattered ocelli,  only rarely arrangedin a line,var. atrovirens Carr. with evolute lobules andscattered ocelli, similar to var. robusta.None of the varieties listed fit the specimens fromthe Azores.Grolle (1972) gave no description of thevarieties.Hattori (1972) provided a worldwide overwiewof the Frullania tamarisci complex, theinfraspecific taxa of the European F. tamarisciand the closely related species in North Americaand Asia. Neither his key leads to the taxon fromthe Azores nor the numerous illustrationsdescribing the great variability fits this taxon.Bisang et al. (1989) refer to the same varietiesmentioned by Müller (1958). The other relevantliterature (Paton, Damsholt) gives no indicationof forms of F. tamarisci with such a long spinyleaf apex.  Therefore it can almost be excludedthat this taxon has already been described beforeas infraspecific taxon of the latter. Thedifferences of the Azorean plants are, however,so important to recognize these plants asinfraspecific taxon of F. tamarisci. Therefore itshall be described here as new variety.Frullania (subg. Frullania) tamarisci (L.)Dumort. var. azorica J.-P. Frahm var. nov. (sect.Tamariscinae)Differs a var. tamarisci stature minore, cellulislaminalibus minoribus lobulis dorsalibu. Lobulidorsales cum apicibus longis, incurvatis, as 12cellulas longis, in extreme apice uniseriatis, foliisventralibus nec decurrentibu, ocellis uniseriatis.Types: Portugal, Azores, Terceira, Serra de SantaBarbara, Calluna-Juniperus heathland NE of theradio station, 950 – 1000 m alt., on branches ofshrubby junipers, leg. Frahm 22.8.2004 no. Az316. Hholotype hb. Frahm (BONN), isotypeLISBON. Pico, southern flanc of Mt. Pico abovethe villages of S. Mateus and S. Caetano, grazedLaurus-Pittospermum-Erica-forest 515 m alt.,on bark, leg. Frahm 28.8.2004 no. Az 315(paratype).Description. Plants prostrate, in loose matsbetween other hepatics, light olive brown, darkbrown or brown with lighter, stem and branchtips, sometimes pinkish (as in F. fragilifolia)never red brown or copper coloured as F.tamarisci, 1 (-3) cm long and 0.36 – 0.4 mmwide, sparsely and irregularly 1(-2) timesbranched.  Stems about 80 µm, branches 40-60µm wide. Leaves imbricate, lobes 200 µm longand 300 µm wide, oval, the apex incurved forabout 1/3 of the length of the lobe, ending in avery acute tip. The leaf tip is 4-5 cells wide atbase and gradually narrowed into a long acumenwhich ends in an unicellular row of 4-5  cells.Ocelli in a median unicellular  row of 5-11 cellsin most but not all leaves, rarely additional singlescattered cells. Laminal cells roundish, 8-10 µmin diameter, with small trigones. Oil bodies 5-8per cell, 1,5-3 µm large, round to ellipsoid.Lobules 150-160 µm long and 80 µm wide, twiceas long as wide; evolute lobules not seen.Underleaves obovate, 160 – 200 µm long and140 – 160 µm wide, twice as wide as the stem,slightly longer than wide, not decurrent alongthe stem but at base, with a short tooth at eachside, sinus ¼ of the length, margins plane orrarely slightly incurved in the middle. Malebranches orbicular. Female bracts bifid to abouthalf the length. Perianth 0.8 mm long and 0.4mm wide, twice as long as wide, in the upperpart with three edges and  short beak, 80 µmlong. Sporophytes not seen. .Distinction. The species resembles muchFrullania tamarisci in the field, but is much103TROPICAL BRYOLOGY 27  (2006)Frullania tamarisci var. azorica   1                                                                          2   3                                        4                                     5    6                                                         8                              9                                                           7Frullania tamarisci var. azorica, holotype: 1. Mat. 2. Single plant. 3., 4., 6. Plants from below, 5.Incurved leaf with uniseriate leaf apex. 7. Laminal cells. 8. Perianths.  9. Plant with male bracts.104TROPICAL BRYOLOGY 27  (2006)Frahmsmaller. It can be distinguished already in thefield with a hand lens by the much incurved leaftip which ends in a long, fine tip. This tip is 1-4cells long in F. tamarisci but about 12 cells longin this new variety, of which the outermost cellsform a unicellular row of about  6 cells. Underthe microscope it gets apparent that theunderleaves are not decurrent as in F. tamarisciand longer. The line of ocelli can be 2 cells widein F. tamarisci or even branched, which is notthe case in var. azorica.  The oil bodies are morenumerous and smaller than those of F. tamarisciand the laminal cells and perianths are muchsmaller. Frullania tamarisci has also the leafapices incurved, however, very much shorter.Ecology. On Terceira, Frullania tamarisci var.azorica was found in wet subalpine haethlanddominated by Calluna vulgaris and Juniperusbrevifolia. Dominating bryophytes wereCampylopus shawii, Herbertus azoricus,Bazzania azorica,  Breutelia azorica, Sphagnumdenticulatum (also in monoclade expression, seeFrahm & Sabovljevic in prep.), S. cuspidatum,S. palustre, S. imbricatum, S. subnitens andScapania compacta. The species grew in thickhepatic mats covering almost horizontalbranches in the sheltered inside of dwarf  shrubsof  Juniperus brevifolia. together withPlagiochila spp., Odontoschisma prostratum,Lepidozia pearsonii (new to the Azores, seeFrahm 2005a), Lepidozia stuhlmannii, Scapaniagracilis, Lejeunea mandonii and Echinodiumprolixum. As it can be seen from the enumerationof species, this locality is a bryologically hot spot(Frahm 2004) and protected  as part of a largerFFH-area. On Pico, the new variety grew on barkof trees in a low, grazed forest. Accompanyingbryophytes were on bark Porella obtusata,Frullania teneriffae, F. fragilifolia,Sematophyllum substrumulosum, Lejeuneaeckloniana, Metzgeria leptoneura, Radula holtii,R. aquilegia, Hypnum uncinulatum, Lejeunealamacerina, L. cavifolia, L. mandonii, L. flava(? with smooth perianth), Radula aquilegia,Marchesinia mackayii, Harpalejeunea ovata,and on soil Dumortiera hirsuta, Leucobryumjuniperoideum, Atrichum angustatum, Jubulahutchinsiae, Fossombronia angulosa,Entosthodon obtusus, Chiloscyphus polyanthus,Calypogeia azorica and others. Although thislocality is also part of the protected FFH-area, itwas much disturbed. Nevertheless it is still veryrich in species and one of the few true (althoughlow)  Laurus forests of the island, whereas theso called forests in the interior are very low,shrubby, much degraded and partly inaccessible.The species richness is possibly due to the highhumidity. Although south exposed, there wasoften a cloud belt reaching from the W-slopearound the foot of Mt. Pico. Unfortunately, the(less steep) western slope is clear cut andtransformed into meadows.Frullania tamarisci var. azorica resemblessomehow F. elongatistipula (Verd.) Hatt. (F.monilata var. elongatistipula Verd. in Handel-Manzetti) known from two collections fromYunnan. This species has also very long leafapices but not as long as here and never endingin unicellular tips, and longer and more deeplyincised underleaves.Acknowledgements: I wish to thank Jiri Vana,Tamas Pócs, S.Rob Gradstein, Alfons Schäfer-Verwimp, Rosalina Gabriel and Manuela Sim-Sim for comments on the new variety and .Heidemarie Nowak-Krawietz for bibliographichelp.ReferencesBisang, I., Schumacker, R., Sergio, C., Grolle,R. 1989. Clé d´identification desespeces du genre Frullania en Europeet en Macaronesie. Giorn. Bot. Ital. 122:255-266.Damsholt, K. 2002. Illustrated Flora of NordicLiverworts and Hornworts. Lund, 838pp.Frahm, J.-P. 2004. Guide to the bryological hotspots in the world. Part 1, Azores.Archive for Bryology 3, 8 pp + 30colour photographs.Frahm, J.-P. 2005a. New or interesting recordsof bryophytes from the Azores. TropicalBryology 26: 45-48.105TROPICAL BRYOLOGY 27  (2006)Frullania tamarisci var. azoricaFrahm, J.-P. 2005b. A brief history of thebryological exploration of the Azores.Tropical Bryology 26: 49-55.Frahm, J.-P. 2005c. An evaluation of thebryophyte flora of the Azores. TropicalBryology 26: 57-66Frahm, J.-P., Sabovljevic, M., In prep. Sphagnumdenticulatum var. monocladum, a newtaxon from the Azores, with notes onSphagnum monocladum Warnst.Grolle, R. 1970. Zur Kenntnis der Frullanien inEuropa und Makaronesien. Wiss.Zeitschr. Univ. Jena Math.-Nat. Reihe19: 307-319.Hattori, S. 1972. The Frullania tamarisci-complex and the species concept. J.Hattori Bot. Lab. 35: 203-251.Müller, K. Die Lebermoose Europas in: L.Rabenhorst, Kryptogamen-Flora vonDeutschland, Österreich und derSchweiz 3. Aufl. Bd. 6. Leipzig.Paton , J.A. 1999. The liverwort flora of theBritish Isles. Marzins (Harley Books),626 pp.106TROPICAL BRYOLOGY 27  (2006)Frahm

An evaluation of the bryophyte flora of the Azores.

Clé d´identification des especes du genre Frullania en Europe et en Macaronesie.

Guide to the bryological hot spots in the world. Part 1, Azores. Archive for Bryology 3, 8 pp + 30 colour photographs.

Illustrated Flora of Nordic Liverworts and Hornworts.

New or interesting records of bryophytes from the Azores.

The Frullania tamariscicomplex and the species concept.

The liverwort flora of the British Isles.

Zur Kenntnis der Frullanien in Europa und

Frullania tamarisci var. azorica (Jubulaceae, Marchantiopsida) : a new taxon from the Azores

Frullania tamarisci var. azorica (Jubulaceae, Marchantiopsida) : a new taxon from the Azores

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