Two New Species of Sphagnum from Brazil

Abstract

Descriptions are provided for two new species of Sphagnum from the state of Bahia, Brazil: S. vitalii (sect. Sphagnum) and S. contortulum (sect. Cuspidata). Some years ago Dale H. Vitt sent me a number of Sphagnum collections that he had made in Brazil, together with a small number of specimens collected by Daniel Vital. Two of the latter, from the state of Bahia, are described here as new species. SPHAGNUM (sect. Sphagnum) VITALII sp. nov. (FIG. 1-7) Plantae ? tenerae, dense caespitosae, pallide fuscae. Caulis fuscus; epidermis caulina stratis 2-3, plerumque efibrosis, aporosisque; cylindra lignosa fusca. Folia caulina 1 mm longa, lingulata, apice rotundata; cellulae hyalinae utrinque superficie poris rotundis 2-4. Fasciculi ramorum ramis 1-2. Folia ramulina 1.5 mm longa, concava, cucullata, ovato-acuminata, apice laeves, marginibus sulco resorptio instructis; cellulae hyalinae utrinque superficie poris 3-5 rotundis; cellulae chlorophylliferae sectione transversali anguste fusiformes, utrinque liberae. Plants in rather small, dense, pale-brown tufts; stems brown, cortical cells in 2-3 layers, without pores or fibrils, wood cylinder brown; stem leaves 1 mm long, nearly flat, lingulate, rounded at apex, moderately fringed in upper half, hyaline cells not divided, fibrillose and porose about one-third down, on outer surface with 2-4 round, ringed commissural pores near apex and small, rounded median gaps somewhat farther down, on inner surface with 2-3 small, round, unringed pores and scattered porelike gaps; branches 1 or 2 (1 pendent), epidermal cells without pores or fibrils; branch leaves 1.5 mm long, deeply concave and cucullate, rather narrowly ovate-acuminate, smooth at back of tip, denticulate-bordered by a resorption furrow, hyaline cells smooth, moderately bulging on both surfaces, on outer surface with 3-5 rather small, roundedelliptic, ringed pores at ends, corners, and commissures, grouped in 3's at adjacent angles and with no membrane gaps at leaf tip, on inner surface with 15 thin-margined, rounded-elliptic pores at ends, corners and commissures; green cells in section lenticular, equally exposed on both surfaces by thickened cell ends. TYPE: BRAZIL. BAHIA: On dripping rocky cliffs along road, Municipio de Jacobina, + 11*06'S, 40*39'W, Daniel M. Vital 8081, 19 May 1978 (holotype, MICH; isotype, sp). By section of the branch leaves, this species might be taken for S. perichaetiale Hampe, which is certainly common as well as widespread in tropical lowlands of the New World, but the cortical cells of both stems and branches lack fibrils and pores; the small stem leaves are noticeably fibrillose and porose in the upper third on the outer surface and have small gaps or pores on the inner surface; and the branch leaves are rather narrowly concavepointed and not roughened at back of the apex (owing to an absence of membrane gaps), and they have numerous, rather small pores on the outer surface and small gaps on inner. The cortical cells of stems and branches lack pores and fibrils, and the branch leaves are rather narrower at the cucullate-concave apex than one expects in the section Sphagnum, but evidence of that relationship is provided by flat, lingulate stem leaves, erose-fringed at the margins, and branch leaves margined by a resorption furrow and having pores on the outer surface grouped in 3's at adjacent cell corners. SPHAGNUM (sect. Cuspidata) CONTORTULUM sp. nov. (FIG. 8-14) Plantae graciles, ca. 9 cm altitudine, laxe caespitosae, pallide luteae. Epidermis caulina stratis duobus, sine poris; cylindra lignosa luteo-fusca. Folia caulina 1.2-1.4 mm longa, oblongo-ovata vel late acuminata e basi oblonga, apice rotundo-cucullata; cellulae fibrillosae usque ad basin, non divisae, dorso poris paucis, apicalibus rotundis, parvis, superficie interiore pods solum apicalibus. Fasciculi ramorum ramis 1 vel 2. Folia ramulina non conferta, concava, cucullata, apice sicca valde squarrosa et contorta, 1.8-2 mm longa, anguste limbata, apice sulco resorptio instructis; cellulae hyalinae dorso poris parvis, apicalibus, superficie interiore similis; cellulae chlorophylliferae oblongae, utrinque superficie liberae. Plants small and slender, about 9 cm high, in lax, yellowish tufts; cortical cells of stem well-differentiated, in 2 layers, without pores at surface, wood cylinder yellow-brown; stem leaves 1.2-1.5 mm long, oblong-ovate or broadly acuminate from an oblong base, cucullate at apex, hyaline cells fibrillose throughout, not divided, with pores few and small (u to 4), at ends and corners on outer surface (upper 0007-2745/91/301-303$0.45/0 This content downloaded from 207.46.13.112 on Mon, 03 Oct 2016 04:28:48 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 302 THE BRYOLOGIST [VOL. 94