Vesicularia

The aquatic moss Vesicularia montagnei, from here.

Belongs within: Hypnales.

Vesicularia is a pantropical genus of mosses found growing in damp habitats.

Characters (from Wu et al. 2005): Plants slender or somewhat robust, pale green or dark green, in flattened mats. Stems prostrate, somewhat radiculose, simple or regularly branched, rarely pinnately branched, branches usually short, flattened, ascending; in stem cross section outer cortical cells smaller, not particularly thick-walled, medullar cells lax, thin-walled; central strand not developed. Leaves dense, more or less differentiated into dorsal, ventral, and lateral leaves, lateral leaves secund, rarely falcate, not decurrent at base, broadly ovate or oblong to ovate-lanceolate, acute or shortly to long-acuminate or filiform at apex; margins entire or only serrulate near apex; costae double, short or absent; leaf cells lax, rounded rhombic, hexagonal or nearly so, smooth, somewhat bordered, differentiated by a row of elongate cells; alar cells not differentiated; dorsal and ventral leaves smaller. Autoicous. Inner perichaetial leaves erect, slenderly acuminate. Setae elongate, smooth; capsules horizontal to inclined, ovoid, oblong-ovoid or obovoid, constricted below the mouth when dry; opercula conic, sometimes shortly rostrate; annuli developed; peristome double; exostome teeth narrowly lanceolate, yellowish brown, cross-striate on outer surface, trabeculate on inner surface; endostome segments perforate, smooth or papillose, cilia 1–3, shorter than the teeth, smooth. Calyptrae cucullate. Spores spherical, smooth.

<==Vesicularia (Müll.Hal.) Müll.Hal. 1896 SK02
    |--V. hilliana (Hampe) Allen 1987 (see below for synonymy) SK02
    |--V. inflectens (Brid.) Müll.Hal. 1896 SK02
    |--V. kurzii N02
    |--V. levieri N02
    |--V. montagnei (Bél.) Broth. 1908 [=Pterygophyllum montagnei Bél. 1846] SG07
    |--V. pinnatula Müll.Hal. ex Broth. 1909 SK02
    |--V. reticulata (Dozy & Molk.) Broth. 1908 [=Ectropothecium reticulatum] SK02
    |--V. rivalis Broth. 1916 SK02
    |--V. slateri (Hampe) Broth. 1908 [=Hypnum slateri, Ectropothecium slateri] SK02
    |--V. succosa N02
    `--V. vesicularis SK02

Vesicularia hilliana (Hampe) Allen 1987 [=Hypnum hillianum, Ectropothecium hillianum, Leucomium hillianum (Hampe) Jaeger 1880, L. hillii (l. c.)] SK02

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[N02] Negi, H. R. 2002. Abundance and diversity of moss communities of Chopta-Tunganath in the Garhwal Himalaya. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 99 (3): 418-433.

[SG07] Singh, S. K. & J. P. Ghosh. 2007. Bryo-diversity in Indian Botanic Garden, Howrah, West Bengal. Bulletin of the Botanical Survey of India 49 (1-4): 155-164.

[SK02] Streimann, H., & N. Klazenga. 2002. Catalogue of Australian Mosses. Flora of Australia Supplementary Series 17. Australian Biological Resources Study: Canberra.

Wu P.-C., M. R. Crosby & S. He. 2005. Sematophyllaceae–Polytrichaceae. In: He, S. (ed.) Moss Flora of China. Science Press & Missouri Botanical Garden.