Lejeuneaceae

Cololejeunea minutissima, photographed by Nathalie Hueber.
Belongs within: Jungermanniales.
Contains: Lejeunea, Lopholejeunea.

The Lejeuneaceae are a large family of liverworts, many species of which are epiphytic. They are characterised by the possession of leaves divided into unequal-sized lobes, with the upper margin of each leaf overlapping the lower margin of the one above it on a stem.

Characters (from Smith 1991): Plants minute to medium-sized, yellowish to green, occasionally brown-tinged. Branching usually of Lejeunea type. Rhizoids restricted to underleaf bases. Leaves unequally bilobed, margins entire, ventral lobe folded under dorsal and much smaller, joined to both stem and dorsal lobe with the latter forming a conspicuous keel region, ventral lobe inflated, terminating in single apical cell with a hyaline papilla at base. Underleaves usually present, much smaller than lateral leaves. Vegetative propagation frequently by caducous leaves, microphyllous small branches or discoid gemmae. Female bracts 2, archegonia one per inflorescence, long-necked. Perianth with three to five keels, abruptly narrowed at apex to conspicuous beak. Seta cells in tiers so that seta appears articulated. Capsules spherical, wall 2-stratose. Spores 15-65 μm long, germinating before release.

<==Lejeuneaceae
    |--Lejeuneoideae B05
    |    |--Lejeunea E03
    |    |--Cheilolejeunea L03
    |    |    |--C. giraldiana G06
    |    |    |--C. inflexa J87
    |    |    |--C. intertexta (Lindenb.) Steph. 1897 L03
    |    |    |--C. laeviscula G06
    |    |    `--C. subopaca G06
    |    |--Drepanolejeunea L03
    |    |    |--D. angustifolia G06
    |    |    |--D. anoplantha J87
    |    |    |--D. erecta G06
    |    |    |--D. orthophylla J87
    |    |    `--D. ternatensis (Gott.) Steph. 1889 L03
    |    |--Leptolejeunea L03
    |    |    |--L. balansae Steph. 1896 L03
    |    |    |--L. epiphylla (Mitt.) Steph. 1914 L03
    |    |    |--L. foliicola Steph. 1896 L03
    |    |    |--L. himalayensis G06
    |    |    |--L. schiffneri (Schiffn.) Steph. 1896 L03
    |    |    |--L. sikkimensis G06
    |    |    |--L. subacuta Evans 1906 L03
    |    |    `--L. subfusca G06
    |    |--Microlejeunea minutistipula Steph. 1907 L03
    |    |--Rectolejeunea L03
    |    |    |--R. aloba (Sande Lac.) Steph. 1914 L03
    |    |    |--R. ocellata Herzog 1949 He49
    |    |    `--R. subolivaceae G06
    |    |--Rhaphidolejeunea foliicola (Horik.) Chen 1955 L03
    |    `--Taxilejeunea tenerrima Steph. 1923 L03
    |--Ptychanthoideae SS05
    |    |--Archilejeunea SG07
    |    |    |--A. apiculifolia DS07
    |    |    |--A. mariana G06
    |    |    |--A. minutilobula Udar & Awasthi 1981 SG07
    |    |    `--A. planiuscula (Mitt.) Steph. 1911 B05
    |    |--Lopholejeunea SS05
    |    |--Acanthocoleus gilvus (Steph.) Krujit 1988 L03
    |    |--Caudalejeunea reniloba (Gott.) Steph. 1912 L03
    |    `--Ptychanthus striatus G06
    `--Cololejeuneoideae L03
         |--Cololejeunea L03
         |    |--C. acrotremae Schiffn. 1900 L03
         |    |--C. appressa (Evans) Benedix 1953 L03
         |    |--C. asperrima D03
         |    |--C. dentifolia Udar & Srivastava 1982 L03
         |    |--C. goebelii (Gott. ex Schiffn.) Schiffn. 1898 L03
         |    |--C. haskarliana (Gott.) Benedix 1953 L03
         |    |--C. indica G06
         |    |--C. kashyapii Udar & Srivastava 1985 L03
         |    |--C. lanciloba Steph. 1985 L03
         |    |--C. longifolia (Mitt.) Benedix 1953 L03
         |    |--C. minutissima G06
         |    |--C. peraffinis (Schiffn.) Schiffn. 1898 L03
         |    |--C. producta (Mitt.) Hatt. in Hara 1966 [=Lejeunea producta Mitt. 1861] SS07
         |    |--C. pseudofloccosa (Horik.) Benedix 1953 L03
         |    |--C. siangensis Asthana & Sri. 2003 L03
         |    `--C. spinosa (Horik.) Hatt. 1944 L03
         `--Colura L03
              |--C. acroloba (Mont.) Ast 1953 L03
              |--C. acutifolia Ast 1953 L03
              |--C. ari Steph. 1916 L03
              |--C. calyptrifolia (Hooker) Dum. 1835 L03
              |--C. saccophylla Hodg. & Herzog in Herzog 1949 H49
              `--C. tenuicornis (Evans) Steph. 1916 [=Colurolejeunea tenuicornis Evans 1900] DS07

Lejeuneaceae incertae sedis:
  Aphanolejeunea subdiaphana MMV01
  Harpalejeunea subfenestrata (Massal.) Schiffn. & Gottsche 1890 [=Lejeunea subfenestrata Massal. 1885] E03
  Bryopteris fruticulosa J87
  Ceratolejeunea brevinervis J87
  Hygrolejeunea reflexistipula J87
  Macrolejeunea sessiliflora J87
  Marchesinia brachiata J87
  Neurolejeunea breutelii J87
  Odontolejeunea sieberiana J87
  Dicranolejeunea G06
    |--D. gilva G06
    `--D. sikkimensis G06
  Marchensinia G06
    |--M. gigantea G06
    `--M. sikkimensis G06
  Spruceanthus semirepandus G06
  Trocholejeunea infuscata G06
  Tuzibeanthus chinensis G06

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B05] Bhattacharyya, P. K. 2005. Bryophyte flora of Barddhaman district, West Bengal. Bulletin of the Botanical Survey of India 47 (1-4): 11-42.

[DS07] Das, S. & D. K. Singh. 2007. Two interesting records of liverworts from Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Bulletin of the Botanical Survey of India 49 (1-4): 211-214.

[D03] Dusén, P. 1903. The vegetation of western Patagonia. In Reports of the Princeton University Expeditions to Patagonia, 1896-1899, vol. 8 – Botany (W. B. Scott, ed.) pp. 1-34. The University: Princeton (New Jersey).

[E03] Evans, A. W. 1903. Hepaticae collected in southern Patagonia. In Reports of the Princeton University Expeditions to Patagonia, 1896-1899, vol. 8 – Botany (W. B. Scott, ed.) pp. 35-62. The University: Princeton (New Jersey).

[G06] Ghosh, J. P. 2006. A preliminary check-list of hepatics of West Bengal. Bulletin of the Botanical Survey of India 48 (1-4): 73-102.

[H49] Herzog, T. 1949. Descriptions of new species of New Zealand hepatics III. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand 77 (2): 253-256.

[J87] Judd, W. S. 1987. Floristic study of Morne La Visite and Pic Macaya National Parks, Haiti. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum – Biological Sciences 32 (1): 1-136.

[L03] Lal, J. 2003. Studies in epiphyllous liverworts of India—its present position. Bulletin of the Botanical Survey of India 45 (1-4): 179-186.

[MMV01] Machado, G., & D. Moreira Vital. 2001. On the occurrence of epizoic cyanobacteria and liverworts on a neotropical harvestman (Arachnida: Opiliones). Biotropica 33 (3): 535-538.

[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.

[SS05] Singh, S. K. & D. K. Singh. 2005. Lopholejeunea sikkimensis var. tenuicostata (Hepaticae: Lejeuneaceae)—a new variety from Great Himalayan National Park, Himachal Pradesh, India. Bulletin of the Botanical Survey of India 47 (1-4): 189-192.

[SS07] Singh, S. K. & D. K. Singh. 2007. A preliminary census of Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of Doon Valley. Bulletin of the Botanical Survey of India 49 (1-4): 1-14.

Smith, A. J. E. 1991. The Liverworts of Britain and Ireland. Cambridge University Press.