Riccardia dimorpha sp. nov. (Hepaticophyta, Aneuraceae) from Western Nelson, New Zealand, exhibiting sexually-determined morphological dimorphism, an overlooked feature of some liverworts
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7751/telopea17709Keywords:
Aneuraceae, Riccardia, New Zealand, new species, endemic, liverwort, sexual dimorphismAbstract
Riccardia dimorpha is described from 24 collections made in New Zealand between
1984 and 2020 from Western Nelson, Westland, and Fiordland ecological provinces
in the South Island, and from Stewart Island / Rakiura. These specimens were
misidentified as R. browniae [ R. pusilla (Steph.) E .A.Br., n om. i lleg.], R . asperulata
R.M.Schust., R. multicorpora E.A.Br., and R. perspicua E.A.Br., or identified only to
genus. Riccardia dimorpha belongs to the Riccardia section Alcicornia Hässel and is
characterised by having strong striations on the epidermis, a subterete thallus, a
monopodial growth form, endomycorrhizae absent from the ventral epidermis, and
epidermal cells are the same size as internal cells. Specimens were collected in fireinduced
Leptospermum scoparium shrublands, on peat soils at lowland to montane
elevations. Riccardia dimorpha i s s exually d imorphic i n p lant s ize a nd n umber o f
branches (meristematic tip number), and male and female plants differ to the degree
that the sexuality of a plant can be determined without finding sexual branches on a
plant. Such dimorphism is rarely reported in liverworts although is common in mosses.
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