Hornworts and Liverworts of Romania

ROMANIAN ACADEMY
Institute of Biology - Bucharest

Frullania parvistipula in Romania

F. parvistipula growth in ROMANIA on calcareous rock walls along with Porella platyphylla (L.) Pfeiff. The habitat is a Pinus sylvestris forest, on the right side of Dâmboviţa River. The forest is in a scientific reserve, part of the Piatra Cariului National Park.

Taxonomical status of F. parvistipula is still uncertain, Schuster (1992) placing this species as parvistipula (Steph.) R.M. Schust. and caucasica (Steph.) R.M. Schust. subspecies of the American liverwort F. eboracensis Gottsche, but according to the European bryologists F. parvistipula and F. eboracensis are different species (Söderström, Urmi & Váňa 2002).

Some new taxonomical features of F. parvistipula samples from the Great Gorges of Dâmboviţa River, usefully in separation of this species from F. eboracensis, was published in 2004 (Ştefănuţ 2004).

F. parvistipula can be recognized by very caducous lobes and steam often largely denuded (figure 2d). The plants has leaves without ocelli, dorsal lobes always rounded, with auriculate base (figure 2a), margin plane or slightly incurved (figures 2a, 3a, 3b), cell walls with small, not bulging trigones and intermediate thickenings (figures 2f, 3a, 3b), almost all ventral lobes helmet-shaped (more than in F. dilatata), somewhat longer than wide (figure 2b), styli uniseriate, filiform, exceptionally with 2 cells at base (figure 2d), underleaves on the main steam longer than wide, at the most twice as wide as the steam, incised in an acute sinus, lobes acute, with lateral teeth usually conspicuous, arising at or below the sinus level (figure 2c). This plants frequently produce gemmae on the margins of the dorsal and ventral lobes (“Brutkörper” or “Gemmen” according Bisang & Schumacker 1987:313,314; “buds” according Paton 1999:476) (figures 2e, 2g) and/or marginal rhizoids (figure 3e) (present in stress conditions at F. dilatata, too). Asexual reproduction is present by caducous leaves, frequently young plants growing on dorsal and ventral lobes before downfall (figures 3c, 3d). F. parvistipula is a dioicous plants with perianths and androecia unknown.

Fig. 1. Frullania parvistipula - ♀ (a-d) (a,d - Ştefănuţ S.; b,c – Păunescu Anca).

Fig. 2. Frullania parvistipula - ♀(a-g). a – dorsal lobe, b – ventral lobe, c – underleaf, d – plant with stylus, e – marginal buds on dorsal lobe, f –,  g – marginal buds on ventral lobe; F. dilatata (h) - cells with oilbodies (Ştefănuţ S.).

Fig. 3. Frullania parvistipula - ♀ (a-e). a – cells of dorsal lobe, b – margin of dorsal lobe, c – young plant growth on ventral lobe, d – young plant growth on dorsal lobe, e – marginal rhizoid on dorsal lobe (Ştefănuţ S.).

Fig. 4. Distribution of Frullania parvistipula in Europe (Ştefănuţ S.).

The form and number of oil-bodies per cell are more different at F. parvistipula than at F. eboracensis. The F. parvistipula liverwort has (4-5)6-8(9) spherical oil-bodies per cell (figures 2f, 3a, 3b) (Ştefănuţ 2004a:110-111) and F. eboracensis has only 2-5(6-7, never more than 7) granular-botryoidal oil-bodies per cell (Schuster 1992:134). Also, the size of dorsal lobe cells is much more at F. parvistipula (marginal cells ca. 15-20 x 15 μm, median cells ca. 20-25 x 15-20 μm and basal cells 30 x 20 μm) than at F. eboracensis (marginal cells ca. 13-15 μm, median cells ca. 16-20 μm and basal cells 16-20 x 25-30 μm).

In Europe (figure 4), the liverwort Frullania  parvistipula is present in:

-Italy: Schlern, in Trentino-Alto Adige region, on dolomite, 1440-1500 m altitude, 23.07.1899, det. Schiffner, sub F. dilatata var. microphylla Schiffn. [FH, JE, S-PA](Hattori 1978:545; Aleffi & Schumacker 1995) and Sicily (Aleffi & Schumacker 1995);

-Switzerland - 4 localities in Kandersteg (Rüegsegger 1986; Bisang & Schumacker 1987);

-Austria: Steiermark (Saukel & Köckinger 1999);

-Romania: Rucăr, the Piatra Craiului National Park (Ştefănuţ 2004a:110-111; Ştefănuţ 2004b);

-Caucasus: Ossetia (NW of Odessa), 18-20.V.1881, leg. V.F. Brotherus [G](Grolle & Long 2000; Söderström, Urmi & Váňa 2002).

According Hattori (1978, 1981), Koponen, Järvinen & Isoviita (1978), Koponen & al. (1983) and Söderström, Urmi & Váňa (2002), F. parvistipula is present in Temperate Asia (Siberia, East Russia, Trans-Caucasus, China, East Asia - Japan) and Tropical Asia (India and Indo-China – Thailand).

Included in the Appendix I of Bern Convention and in the Red Data Book of European Bryophytes (ECCB 1995; Hallingbäck 2003), F. parvistipula is a critically endangered species protected by Romanian Law (the Law 13/1993 and HG 230/2003). In Switzerland F. parvistipula is treated as a “rare” species (Urmi & al. 1992), in Austria is a “critically endangered” species (Saukel & Köckinger 1999) and in Italy is a “vulnerable” species (Aleffi & Schumacker 1995).

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Last modified: 01/05/09