A Taxonomic Note on Crassicosta hermannii

Abstract

Crassicosta hermannii H. A. Crum & Sharp, a genus and species described from northeastern Mexico, is taxonomically synonymous with Haplocladium angustifolium (Hampe & Miill. Hal. in Miill. Hal.) Broth. SThe genus Crassicosta and its single species, C. hermannii, were described by Crum and Sharp (1984) from a collection made by Frederick J. Hermann in 1975 in Nuevo Le6n, Mexico. Crum and Sharp (1984) placed the genus in the Amblystegiaceae but Ochyra (1988) concluded it is congruent with the Leskeaceae. In connection with my studies of Helodium Warnst. I examined type specimens of C. hermannii and discovered that it is synonymous with Haplocladium angustifolium (Hampe & Miill. Hal. in Miill. Hal.) Broth. Since C. hermannii is the type species, the genus Crassicosta is synonymous with Haplocladium Miill. Hal. Authority names in this report follow Brummitt and Powell (1992). HAPLOCLADIUM Miill. Hal., Hedwigia 38: 149. 1899. TYPE: H. transvaaliense Miill. Hal. Bryohaplocladium R. Watan. & Z. Iwats., J. Jap. Bot. 56: 259. 1981. Crassicosta H. A. Crum & Sharp, THE BRYOLOGIST 87: 150. 1984, syn. nov. TYPE: C. hermannii H. A. Crum & Sharp. MEXICO. NUEVO LE6N. Sierra Madre Oriental ca. 9 mi. NW of Monterrey, Hermann 26063, (holotype, MICH!; isotypes, MICH!, NY!, TENN, MEXU). Haplocladium angustifolium (Hampe & Mill. Hal. in Mill. Hal.) Broth., Nat. Pfl. 1(3): 1007. 1908. Basionym: Hypnum angustifolium Hampe & Mill. Hal. in Miill. Hal., Bot. Zeitung (Berlin) 13: 788. 1855. Bryohaplocladium angustifolium (Hampe & Mill. Hal.) R. Watan. & Z. Iwats., J. Jap. Bot. 56: 259. 1981. Crassicosta hermannii H. A. Crum & Sharp, THE BRYOLOGIST 87: 150. 1984, syn. nov. Additional specimens examined (all in IA). -Haplocladium angustifolium (Hampe & Miill. Hal. in Mill. Hal.) Broth. JAPAN. WAKAYAMA PREF. Kodama, 16 Jan. 1963 [as H. schwetschkeoides (Cardot) Broth.]. U.S.A. ARIZONA. SANTA CRUZ CO.: Haskell & Haring 11486. PIMA CO.: Frye 3284. NEW MEXICO. Capitan Mtns., Ikenberry 535. In 1981, Watanabe and Iwatsuki pointed out that the algal name Haplocladium Niigeli has priority over the moss name Haplocladium Miill. Hal., and they made the new combination Bryohaplocladium R. Watan. & Z. Iwats. Anderson et al. (1990) similarly treat Haplocladium MUll. Hal. as Bryohaplocladium. However, after considering Ochyra's (1983) proposal that the moss name Haplocladium Mill. Hal. be conserved against the algal name Haplocladium Niigeli, the nomenclatural Committee for Bryophyta concluded that Haplocladium Miill. Hal. should be used instead of Bryohaplocladium because the description of Haplocladium Nfigeli was not validly published at the generic rank (Zijlstra 1990). Haplocladium angustifolium, including the type specimens of Crassicosta, typically has oblong or linear and prorulose upper leaf cells, a characteristic that belies its placement in Haplocladium, in which most species have short cells with papillae over the lumina. In North America H. angustifolium also includes an expression with short leaf cells that approaches H. microphyllum (Hedw.) Broth. However the leaf cells are prorulose, without a papilla over the lumen as in H. microphyllum. Reimers (1937) discussed the variation in both species and concluded that a specimen from Nuevo Le6n collected by C. G. Pringle is H. angustifolium with short leaf cells. Specimens from Arizona and New Mexico (cited above) also likely represent this form of H. angustifolium with short leaf cells. In 1954 and 1955, Crum determined two of these specimens as H. angustifolium, but Crum et al. (1965) later listed this taxon as synonymous with H. microphyllum. More recently Anderson et al. (1990) included H. angustifolium as occurring north of Mexico. Crum and Sharp (1984), Noguchi (1991), Reimers (1937), and Watanabe (1972) have provided descriptions and illustrations of H. angustifolium. Watanabe (1972) stated that H. angustifolium occurs in Mexico and Jamaica in North America, and Asia, Europe, and Africa. There are no other reports that document the general North American distribution. Reimers (1937) wrote that the only known collection from the Americas was one from Nuevo Le6n made by Pringle in 1908. Crum (1951) did not report H. angustifolium from Mexico, but Gier (1980) included it from Latin America, although he did not cite specimens. The only published reference to the occurrence of this moss in North America 0007-2745/94/174-175$0.35/0 This content downloaded from 207.46.13.92 on Wed, 30 Nov 2016 05:08:51 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 1994] O'BRIEN: CRASSICOSTA HERMANNII 175 north of Mexico is that in Anderson et al. (1990). According to William R. Buck (in litt.), and based on specimens in IA cited in this paper, the distribution includes the West Indies, Mexico, and the southwestern United States.