Fissidens integerrimus
Common name
Moss
Synonyms
Fissidens tasmanicus Broth, ex Rodw.; Fissidens hunteri Willis
Family
Fissidentaceae
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 | Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable | Qualifiers: DP, RR, TO
Previous conservation status
2004 | Threatened – Nationally Endangered
Distribution
Indigenous. Australia and New Zealand. In New Zealand known only from the North Island (at four sites (Puketi Forest, near Kerikeri, and from two locations in the Waitakere Ranges) and the Chatham Islands (Rangiauria (Pitt Island)).
Habitat
Aquatic. Saxicolous on base rich rocks such as basalt and gabbro. Confined to lowland streams in forest or formerly forested areas.
Detailed description
Plants medium sized for the genus, saxicolous, rheophytic, dark green; all but youngest leaves usually encrusted with diatoms and detritus; shoots forming dense smooth mats of parallel prostrate stems in fast flowing water, more sparsely gregarious with more or less erect stems in slower moving water, falcate, 5-15 mm long, up to 2 mm wide, frequently branched; shoot branches readily detached; rhizoids at base of shoots and base of shoot branches, occasionally in leaf axils; stems with central strand, small axillary hyaline nodules differentiated, uniseriate axillary hairs present; leaves in 10-45 pairs, when moist slightly falcate, when dry little altered, mid-stem leaves slightly overlapping to distant, oblong lanceolate, 1.25- 2 mm long, 0.25-0.35 mm wide; leaf apex obtuse to acute; vaginant lamina 1/2-2/3 of leaf length, junction only along nerve or up to mid-way across lamina; dorsal lamina narrow, reaching to stem; nerve curved below, bent at apex of vaginant lamina, failing before leaf apex, surface cells with small lumina in cross-section, deuter cells exposed on the adaxial face; leaf margins serrulate; intramarginal border usually well developed in proximal half of vaginant lamina but sometimes very weak or absent, distal half of vaginant lamina unbordered; laminae unistratose; cells of apical and dorsal laminae quadrate to hexagonal, thick-walled (8-) 11-16(-20) microns long, clear, smooth, those in 1-4 marginal rows smaller than those nearer the nerve. Apparently dioicous or cladautoicous; female inflorescences terminal on main and axillary stems; perichaetial leaves narrower than vegetative leaves; archegonia 300-350 microns long; setae 2.5-3.5 mm long; capsule inclined, symmetrical, urn 0.4-0.6 mm long, exothecial cells quadrate to short rectangular, numbering about 30 around perimeter at midcapsule; operculum rostrate with an erect beak, equaling the length of the urn; peristome teeth 50-60 microns wide at base, bifurcate from below mid-tooth, lamellae ornamented with closely packed smooth ridges bearing intramural papilla-like thickenings in basal part of tooth, smooth at the zone of bifurcation, filaments spirally thickened; spores 13-20 microns; calyptra slightly scabrous above, mitriform, not completely covering operculum.
Fruiting
Fruit may be found throughout the year
Threats
Extremely vulnerable to changes in water levels, aeration and quality. Also susceptible to trampling as a result of the recreational activity known as canyoning, aquatic weed invasion, deforestation and subsequent increased light levels and siltation.
Substrate
Saxicolous aquatic moss growing on basalt and andesite rock, in well aerated, fast flowing streams within forest
Etymology
fissidens: From the Latin fissio ‘fission’ and dens ‘tooth, prong’ meaning split tooth and referring to shape of the lamina.
Attribution
Fact Sheet Prepared for NZPCN by: P.J. de Lange August 2007. Description adapted from Beever & Stone (1992).
References and further reading
Beever, J.E.; Stone, I.G. 1992: Studies of Fissidens (Bryophyta: Musci) in New Zealand: F. taxifolius Hedw. and F. integerrimus Mitt . New Zealand Journal of Botany 30: 237–246.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Fissidens integerrimus Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/fissidens-integerrimus/ (Date website was queried)