Wedelia trilobata (L Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 12(1): 53-57, 2005 (June) PLEUROCARPOUS MOSSES OF BANGLADESH : METEORIACEAE AND PTEROBRYACEAE HAMIDA KHATUN AND SYED HADIUZZAMAN Department of Botany, University of Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh Key words: Pleurocarpous moss, Isobryales, Meteoriaceae, Pterobryaceae, Bangladesh Abstract Barbella rufifolia (Thwait & Mitt.) Broth. (Family Meteoriaceae) and Pterobryopsis auriculata Dix. (Family Pterobryaceae) of Isobryales are described as new records for Bangaldesh. Introduction While studying the herbarium specimens of the University of Dhaka (DUH) for the pleurocarpous mosses of Bangaldesh, the authors have come across with two species namely, Barbella rufifolia (Thwait & Mitt.) Broth. of the Family Meteoriaceae and Pterobryopsis auriculata Dix. of the Family Pterobryaceae, both belonging to the Order Isobryales. Incidentally, it may be mentioned that these two genera are also new records for Bangladesh. These two taxa are not found in the works of earlier workers, viz. Tixier 1967, Khatun and Hadiuzzaman 1994a, 1994b, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2004a and 2004b. Gangulee (1976) described many genera and species of the Family Meteoriaceae from the eastern India and adjacent regions but B. rufifolia was not mentioned from Bangladesh in his work. As regards P. auriculata Gangulee (l.c.) mentioned it as endemic to India, but now it is found also in Bangladesh. So far Khatun and Hadiuzzaman (l.c.) reported 22 species under 12 genera of pleurocarpous mosses of Bangaldesh. The illustrated description of the above mentioned two new records along with short notes on their distribution in Bangladesh are given below. Order: Isobryales; Family: Meteoriaceae Genus Barbella Fleisch. In Broth., Nat. pfl., 1(3): 823 (1906) Plant slender, loose, soft, long, pendant tufts. Stems creeping with numerous short or long free and irregular branches. Leaves symmetric, inserted in many rows, curved or spiraled when dry, lanceolate, acuminate, with a single vein ending in well below the tip. Leaf cells thin-walled, variously papillose, linear to elliptic, rhomboidal at base and slightly different at alar. Barbella rufifolia (Thwait & Mitt.) Broth., Nat. pfl., 1(3) : 324 (1906) (Plate 1) [Syn.: Meteorium rufifolium Thwait. & Mitt. In J. Linn. Soc. Bot., 13: 316 (1873)] 54 KHATUN AND HADIUZZAMAN Plant green to yellow-green, secondary branches flexuose. Main stem pendulous, branches short, distant, pinnate, complanate, ending in flagellate tips, c. 5 cm or more long. Leaves widely spreading, complanate, lanceolate, not ovate at base but gradually narrow, c. 3.25 mm long and 0.73 mm wide at base, apex short, pointed, margin dentate, costa single, reaching up to less than half or half of the leaf. Leaf cells elongate, linear Plate 1 Plate 1 Figs. A-K: Barbella rufifolia (Thwait. & Mitt.) Broth. A. dry plant (× 6.67), B. wet plant (× 6.67); C, D. leaves (× 24), E. basal laminal cells (× 180), F. middle laminal cell (× 180), G. leaf apex cells (× 180), H. perichaetial leaf (× 24), I. mouth cells of the capsule (× 200), J. exothecial cells of the capsule (× 200), K. peristome teeth (× 80). PLEUROCARPOUS MOSSES OF BANGLADESH 55 sometimes elliptic, with one or more than one papillae, extreme base and extreme tip cells lack of papillae, c. 95 × 5 µm at tip,c. 75 × 4 µm at middle, short at base up to c. 60 × 5 µm, alar differentiated by very few rectangular cells. Sporophyte on short, lateral shoot with ovate-cylindric capsule, shorter than perichaetial leaves. Seta short, c. 1.2 mm, capsule ovate cylindric, c. 1.3 × 0.5 mm in diameter. peristome double, exostome long with linear lanceolate teeth showing median line and dense striations below, endostome hyaline, papillose, segments showing median perforation with c. 987 µm basal membrane. Specimen examined: Natore: Sadar, collected from the bark of the tree on 20 December, 1978 by Sakil Ahmed, 335 (DUH). Family: Pterobryaceae; Genus: Pterobryopsis Plant robust, shiny, stems creeping, filiform, densely rediculose, slightly woody and hard. Leaves in many rows, symmetrical, ovate-lanceolate, short acuminate, cucullate at the apex, concave. Nerve stronger, single. Leaf cells smooth, incrassate, porose and larger at the base, alar cells little differentiated. Pterobryopsis auriculata Dix., J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 39 : 782 (1937) (Plate 2) Plant dense or robust, branches present, more or less pinnately branched, up to 8 cm long. Leaves also dense, erect, ovate-cochliariform (rounded and concave like spoon), cucullate at acute apex. stem leaf c. 2.5 mm long and 1.5 mm wide, margin involute in upper leaf, slightly dentate at tip, auricle present at base. Costa single, length of the costa about 3/4th or more of the leaf length. Leaf cells non papillose but porous and thick wall at basal middle, linear elongate at middle, c. 95.5 x 8 µm, c. 70.7 x 10 µm at base, alar cells are not conspicuous, cells in auricle hyaline, shorter, c. 40.5 x 8 µm. Main stem and branch stem leaves are more or less similar but branch stem leaves are slightly wider and larger in size. Sporophyte not known. Number of filamentous gemmae found, 8-10 celled structure, c.200-260 µm long. Specimens exmined: Barisal: Amtoli, on the bark of tree, Md. Rafiq, 2.12.95, 748 (DUH), Cox's Bazar: Town, on the bark of tree, Hamida Khatun, 21.02.92, 73 (DUH); St. Martin’s Island, on the bark of tree, 1538, 1569 (DUH); Maulvi Bazar : Srimangal, on the bark of tree, Hamida Khatun, Syeda Humaira Afroze,Md. Shahabuddin, Md Belal, Abdul Karim, 3.3.92, 671 (DUH); Adampur forest, on the bark of tree, Hamida Khatun, 1.12.94, 353 (DUH); Kality Tea Estate, on the bark of tree, Shelly, Husna, Nilufer, Lovely, 12.3.82 (DUH); Nilphamari: Syedpur, on the bark of tree, Masuduzzaman, 30.11.88,1393 (DUH); Tangail : Mirzapur, on the bark of tree, Nazmul Islam, 19.2.91, 37 (DUH). 56 KHATUN AND HADIUZZAMAN Plate 2 Fig. A-G: Pterobryopsis auriculata Dix. A. dry plant (× 6.66), B. wet plant (× 6.66), C. leaf (× 18), D. gemma (× 133.33), E. basal laminal cells (× 300), F. middle laminal cells (× 300), G. leaf apex cells (× 300). References Gangulee, H.C. 1976. Mosses of eastern India and adjacent regions. (A monograph), Fasc. 6: 1260-1272, 1324-1389, Calcutta, India. Khatun, H. and Hadiuzzaman S. 1994. Taxonomic studies of some pleurocarpic mosses of Bangladesh, Bangladesh J. Bot. 23(1): 113-122. PLEUROCARPOUS MOSSES OF BANGLADESH 57 Khatun, H. and Hadiuzzaman S. 1994. A preliminary checklist of the pleurocarpous mosses of Bangladesh . Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon . 1(2): 61-63. Khatun, H. and Hadiuzzaman S. 1995. Addition to the pleurocarpous mosses of Bangladesh. Bangladesh J. Bot . 24(2): 183-191. Khatun, H. and Hadiuzzaman S. 1999. Addition to the checklist of the pleurocarpous mosses of Bangladesh. Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 8(2): 207-209. Khatun, H. and Hadiuzzaman S. 2003. Pleurocarpous mosses of Bangladesh, Family Neckeraceae-1. Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon . 10(2): 47-55. Khatun, H. and Hadiuzzaman S. 2004. Pleurocarpous mosses of Bangladesh, Family Neckeraceae-2. Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon . 11(1): 43-47. Khatun, H. and Hadiuzzaman S. 2004. Pleurocarpous mosses of Bangladesh, Family Erpodiaceae. Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon . 11(2): 29-32. Tixier, P. 1967. Bryophytae Indosinicae. The Dacca Univ. Stud., B, 15: 1-14 Department of Botany, University of Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh Abstract Introduction Order: Isobryales; Family: Meteoriaceae Plate 1 Plate 1 Family: Pterobryaceae; Genus: Pterobryopsis Plate 2 References