The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Encalypta rhaptocarpa

Common Name(s)

moss

Current Conservation Status

2009 - Sparse

Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2012
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2012 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2009 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, Paul D. Champion, Shannel P. Courtney, Peter B. Heenan, John W. Barkla, Ewen K. Cameron, David A. Norton and Rodney A. Hitchmough. File size: 792KB

Qualifiers

2009 - DP

Authority

Encalypta rhaptocarpa Schwägr.

Family

Encalyptaceae

Flora Category

Non Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

ENCRHA

Structural Class

Moss

Synonyms

None

Distribution

Indigenous: North Island (Ruahine Ra.); South Island Nelson (Mt. Owen and Mt Arthur Ras.), Canterbury (Broken River basin) and Southland (Murchison Range.); Chatham Islands (Rangiauria (Pitt I.)).Also North and South America, northern Europe, Asia, Antarctica, Hawaii and the South Orkney Islands

Features

Plants dull, red-brown. Stems to c.8 mm, mostly branched. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, rather abruptly narrowed above to an acute apex, with a short or long hair point, mostly spiralled around the stem when dry, not markedly involute, erect-spreading when moist, entire, c.2.0–3.5 × 1 mm, in cross-section U-shaped or weakly-keeled and with margins plane; upper laminal cells short-oblong or subquadrate, bulging, with several (mostly 4–6) c-shaped papillae, mostly 12–21 × 12–15 µm, grading into the cells of the lower lamina; cells of lower lamina elongate-oblong, smooth, with thin longitudinal walls and strongly thickened yellow-orange transverse walls (especially near base of costa); cells of the lower margin lacking thickened transverse walls, forming a border c.5–6 cells wide which fades at the junction with the papillose laminal cells. Costa stout and prominent, red-brown or less commonly yellow-brown, mostly short- to long-excurrent to form a concolourous or apically pale hair-point, lustrous when dry, smooth below, in cross-section with a 1–2 layers of guide cells, 1 layer of papillose upper cells (not differing from adjacent laminal cells), and a large basal stereid band. Perichaetia often overtopped by innovations, the perichaetial leaves scarcely differentiated. Perigonia located immediately below perichaetia. Setae 3–5 mm, red-brown or orange, smooth, straight, not twisted; capsules exserted, erect, narrowly cylindric, with a weakly defined neck, smooth, weakly striate or furrowed, ± constricted at mouth, with a small and poorly defined neck, longitudinally furrowed when dry, gold-brown, red at mouth, 2.5-3.2 mm; annulus lacking; operculum narrowly long-rostrate from a conic base, straight, c.1.5 mm, often falling with the calyptra. Calyptra narrowly long-mitrate, completely enclosing the capsule, not lobed at base, weakly scabrose near tip, c.5 mm.

Fruiting

May be present throughout the year

Threats

A Naturally Uncommon, mostly alpine species in New Zealand. Most populations are small but secure within national parks. The largest seem to be in Fiordland National Park. It is known in the North Island from one gathering made from the Ruahine Ranges in 1948. Further survey of that area is needed. on the Chatham islands it is known from one site on Rangiauria (Pitt I.) where it grew in a sinkhole on a trachytic peak.

This page last updated on 25 Jul 2014