NECKERACEAE

Enroth, J. & Shevock, J. R., 2021, Contributions to the moss families Neckeraceae and Pterobryaceae of Bhutan, Arctoa 30 (1), pp. 43-46 : 43-44

NECKERACEAE

Noguchiodendron sphaerocarpum (Nog.) Ninh &

Pócs ( Fig. 1 )

Specimens examined: Bhutan. Tashigang, Tashiyangtse, W of Risum Gompa , evergreen oak forest on SWfacing slope, grazed in winter, 27°42’N 91°27’E, 2600 m a.s.l., 7.VI.2000, G. & S . Miehe 00-84-40 ( H) .

Noguchiodendron sphaerocarpum is the single representative of its genus. It was segregated from Homaliodendron M. Fleisch. on morphological grounds ( Ninh & Pócs, 1981) and molecular data supports its generic status distinct from Homaliodendron s. str. ( Olsson et al., 2016). Its morphological distinctions were discussed by Ma & Shevock (2015) and it has since been collected from several additional counties in Yunnan.

This species was previously reported from Bhutan (Tashiling) by Noguchi (1971, as Homaliodendron sphaerocarpum Nog. ), but to our knowledge there are no subsequent records from the country. The Tashiling specimens came from 2400–2450 m a.s.l. and the specimens reported here from eastern Bhutan were collected at 2600 m a.s.l.

1 – Botanical Museum, P.O.Box 7, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland; e-mail: [e-mail]; ORCID: 0000- 0002-2028-6910

2 – California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Dr., San Francisco, California 94118 USA; ORCID: 0000-0003-1283-0709 Noguchiodendron sphaerocarpum is distributed in the general Himalayan region, from Nepal through Himalayan India and Bhutan to Yunnan in China, Myanmar and down to northern Thailand ( Tanaka et al., 2003; Ma & Shevock, 2015; present report). It was reported from Western Ghats (Tamil Nadu, as Homaliodendron sphaerocarpum ) by Daniels & Daniel (2007), but the record needs verification. Some of the illustrations in that paper appear to have been copied or modified from Gangulee (1976: p. 1422, fig. 702).

Illustrations: Gangulee 1976: fig. 702; Ninh & Pócs 1981: figs. 1–3; Ma & Shevock 2015: figs. 3 and 4.

Shevockia inunctocarpa Enroth & M.C. Ji

Specimen examined: Bhutan. Tashigang, Tashiyangtse, Pang La E side, Tsuga-Acer-Rhododendron forest on SE-facing slope, 27°44’N 91°24’E, 3260 m a.s.l., epiphyte, 8. VI .2000, G . & S . Miehe 00-86-02 ( H) .

This genus currently with a single species was described from the Gaoligongshan Range in Yunnan, China, by Enroth & Ji (2006). Shevockia inunctocarpa is currently known from Fu-gong and Gong-shan counties in Yunnan. Its generic status in the Pinnatella clade of the Neckeraceae is supported by molecular data ( Olsson et al., 2010). The type specimen from Yunnan was collected at 2700 m a.s.l. and the Bhutan specimen at 3260 m a.s.l.

The Bhutan specimen reported here is not in good condition and it lacks sporophytes. However, the characteristically shaggy habit as well as the complanate and asymmetric, curved leaves, plicate in their basal parts and with a costa mostly reaching to midleaf, are typical of Shevockia , and even more so are the spreading stipe leaves with recurved margins and – to our knowledge unique in the Neckeraceae – rhizoidal tomentum among the stipe leaves.

Illustrations: Enroth & Ji 2006: figs. 1–4.

Figures

Fig. 1. Noguchiodendron sphaerocarpum (from G. & S. Miehe 00-84-40). Scale bar = 2 cm.