Riccardia pennata
Common name
Liverwort
Synonyms
None (first described in 1989)
Family
Aneuraceae
Flora category
Non-vascular – Native
Structural class
Liverworts
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
RICPEN
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 | Range Restricted
Distribution
Endemic. South Island, Glasgow Range
Detailed description
Dioicous. Thallus flaccid, creeping, pale green. Growth indeterminate, branching simply pinnate to bipinnate with minimal tripinnate development. Thalli c.15 mm long, 760-1428 microns wide. Apices slightly cleft. Mucilage papillae 80 x 25 microns, ventral, either persisting for only a short distance or not at all. Rhizoids ventral, frequently in scattered patches. Stolons absent and gemmae not observed. Axis plano-convex with an acute, winged margins. Thallus 118-150 microns (5-6 cells) thick; cells thin walled to slightly thickened and those of ventral epidermis and sometimes the subepidermis smaller than the dorsal epidermal and internal cells. Winged margin 1 cell thick and typically 3 cells wide, cells tending to be larger than those of the dorsal epidermis, usually lacking oil-bodies and frequently chlorotic. Thallus wing obvious in younger regions of the axis but not always evident in older areas. External epidermal cell walls smooth. Dorsal epidermal cells oblong to hexagonally elongate, 44-69 x 21-29 microns, and 20-26 microns deep. Ventral epidermal cells elongate in the centre of the axis, 44-74 x 10-13 microns but becoming shorter and wider towards wing (34-53 x 12-22 microns). Dorsal subepidermal cells similar in shape to those of dorsal epidermis, 58-111 x 27-40 microns. Ventral subepidermal cells pentagonal to hexagonal, 27-41 x 15-19 microns. Internal cells 15-27 microns deep. Oil-bodies 10-18 x 7-11 microns, absent in epidermis (sometimes present in the marginal wing) and the ventral subepidermis, and frequently in the internal cells. Endophytic mycorrhizae 3-5 microns wide and numerous in the ventral epidermis. Male branches solitary, arising from the main axis or the base of side pinnae in older regions of the thallus, sessile. Antheridial cavities on the dorsal surface in 4-6 pairs separated by 1-3 cells. Female branches solitary, towards the apex of the main axis or on actively growing side branches, bearing 2-3 pairs of archegonia. Calyptra and sporophyte unknown.
Fruiting
Fruits not known
Threats
Not Threatened. Apparently a narrow-range endemic whose only known habitats occur within reserved land protected by the crown.
Substrate
Saxicolous on vertical, water saturated rock faces growing with Plagiochila Dum. and Schistochila Dum. within Nothofagus forest, and also known from just above timberline where terricolous on skeletal soil on permanently damp, rock-strewn ground.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (27 August 2006). Description adapted from Brown & Braggins (1989).
References and further reading
Brown, E.A.; Braggins, J.E. 1989: A revision on the genus Riccardia S.F. Gray in New Zealand with notes on the genus Aneura Dum. Journal of the Hattori Botanical Labratory 66: 1-132.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Riccardia pennata Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/riccardia-pennata/ (Date website was queried)