Aloina ambigua
Common name
Moss
Family
Pottiaceae
Flora category
Non-vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Mosses
Current conservation status
- Conservation status of New Zealand mosses, 2014 (PDF, 583.87 kB)
The conservation status of 109 New Zealand moss taxa was assessed using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). Four taxa and one undescribed entity that were not included in previous assessments have been added to the list. The conservation status of only two taxa has changed in this assessment. A full list is presented, along with a statistical summary and brief notes on the changes. This list replaces all previous NZTCS lists for mosses. Authors: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Allan J. Fife, Jessica E. Beever, Patrick J. Brownsey and Rodney A. Hitchmough.
- Conservation status of New Zealand hornworts and liverworts, 2014 (PDF, 695.44 kB)
The conservation status of the New Zealand hornwort and liverwort flora is reassessed using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). A full list is presented, along with a statistical summary and brief notes on the most important changes. This list replaces all previous NZTCS lists for New Zealand hornworts and liverworts which previously had been part of a generic bryophyte conservation status assessment that included mosses. Authors: Peter J. de Lange, David Glenny, John Braggins, Matt Renner, Matt von Konrat, John Engel, Catherine Reeb and Jeremy Rolfe.
Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2009 | Non-resident Native – Vagrant | Qualifiers: SO
Distribution
Indigenous. New Zealand: North Island (Te Paki, Hawke’s Bay and Carterton) (see Glenny et al. 2011; also P.J. de Lange unpubl. data). Also Europe, North Africa, North America and Australia (South Australia and Victoria).
Habitat
Lowland. Collected from clay at the bottom of roadside drains and from a cemetery.
Detailed description
Terricolous. Leaves slightly curled when dry, long and spreading when moist, c.1.0-3.0 × 0.3-0.7 mm, lingulate, base shortly sheathing, apex cucullate, incurved, ± obtuse (± subacute when flattened out), margin entire. Upper cells quadrate to rectangular, transversely elongate, trigones prominent, basal cells rectangular, slightly smaller than upper cells, trigones similar, walls firm. Costa ceasing at or below apex, filaments short, 3-6 cells high, branched, terminal cell nearly spherical to elongately ovoid. Dioecious. Seta 6-12 mm long, red, paler above. Capsule erect, elongately cylindrical, dark brown; operculum elongate; annulus narrow, persistant; calyptra hardly covering more than the operculum; peristome teeth weakly twisted when dry, borne separately on a distinct basal membrane projecting above the theca mouth. Spores 14-16 µm.
Fruiting
September
Threats
Known from only three sites from where it is evidently spreading. Indications are that it is a recent arrival to New Zealand, although whether it is naturalised or indigenous is still not clear. The few known sites are all in sites vulnerable to changes in roading and landuse. Aloina ambigua is abundant in Australia.
Substrate
Terricolous. On clay. Gatherings have been made from roadside ditches draining siltstone cliff faces and banks, and also from compacted clay within a cemetery.
Etymology
ambigua: From the Latin ambiguus ‘ambiguous, uncertain’
Attribution
Fact Sheet Prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 13 October 2011. Description adapted from Catcheside (1980).
References and further reading
Catcheside, D.G. 1980: Mosses of South Australia. Government Printer, South Australia
Glenny, D.; Fife, A.J.; Brownsey, P.J.; Renner, M.A.M.; Braggins, J.E.; Beever, J.E.; Hitchmough, R. 2011: Threatened and uncommon bryophytes of New Zealand (2010 Revision). New Zealand Journal of Botany 49: 305-327.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Aloina ambigua Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/aloina-ambigua/ (Date website was queried)