The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Orthotrichum aucklandicum

Common Name(s)

moss

Current Conservation Status

2009 - Range Restricted

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 - OL

Authority

Orthotrichum aucklandicum (Vitt) Goffinet

Family

Orthotrichaceae

Flora Category

Non Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Moss

Synonyms

Muelleriella aucklandica Vitt

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: Auckland Islands, Auckland Island only.

Features

Plants in small, blackish cushions, the tips often yellow-green to light-green. Stems erect, mostly 2-4× branched, rarely simple or once branched, c.3-12 mm high. Leaves loosely-erect and twisted, sometimes incurved when dry, loosely-erect and straight to erect-spreading when moist, 2.8-3.9 mm long, tri- or bistratose above, ligulate-lanceolate to narrowly ligulate from an ovate base, obtuse or sometimes acute; margins plane, often tristratose or quadristratose; costa ending just below the apex, in cross-section consisting of uniform stereids with no guide cells, in the upper portion of the leaf usually covered on the ventral side with larger cells, on the dorsal side usually not covered by lamina cells or if covered these often partially stereid in appearance; upper cells irregularly rounded to irregularly hexagonal, smooth; basal cells rectangular to elongate-rectangular, slightly nodose to costa, shorter towards margins. Autoicous, Perigonia often at ends of separate branches. Setae 0.5-1.1 mm long; capsules 0.8-1.2 mm long, ± 0.7 mm wide, oblong when dry, ovate to ovate-oblong when wet, gradually narrowed to the seta, immersed, the mouth positioned within the upper 2/3 of the leaf, usually constricted beneath the mouth when old and dry, smooth; exothecial cells rectangular, extremely thick-walled on the tangential side; stomates immersed in the lower ½ of the capsule; subsidiary cells strongly differentiated and completely covering the stomates; Peristome diplolepideous, single; exostome teeth 16, papillose, spreading-recurved when dry; endostome segments none; preperistome well-developed, sometimes up to ½ length of the exostome. Calyptrae conic, mitrate, strongly plicate, naked or with 1-2 multicellular hairs, with small papillae near apex. Spores multicellular, 40-70 µm, irregularly spherical to cubic-rectangular.

Fruiting

Fruits have been observed in December

Threats

Not Threatened. Listed because it is a local endemic confined to the Auckland Islands.

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 20 Oct 2014