The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Aloina bifrons

Common Name(s)

moss

Current Conservation Status

2009 - Non Resident Native - Vagrant

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

Previous Conservation Status

2004 - Range Restricted

Qualifiers

2009 - SO, OL

Authority

Aloina bifrons (De Not.) Delgad.

Family

Pottiaceae

Flora Category

Non Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Moss

Synonyms

Aloina sullivaniana (Müll.Hal.) Broth.

Distribution

Indigenous. New Zealand: Hawkes Bay. Also Europe (Mediterranean). North America, South Africa and Australia (Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales)

Habitat

Lowland areas. Terricolous on open clay pans and sparsely vegetated surfaces

Features

Minute, loosely tufted moss forming diffuse patches on limestone rock. Stems thick, up to 2 mm tall, stout, comose. Leaves c.2 mm long, imbricated and incurved when dry, spreading when moist, thick, fleshy more or less succulent; lamina broadly elliptic, base sheathing, distinctly concave, margins widely involute from close to base, hooded and subacute at apex. Nerve very broad, flat and indistinct, excurrent, finely cuspidate in the lower leaves, and as a long, smooth, hyaline arista in the upper ones. Ventral surface of the nerve and lamina, excluding the involute margins and the short base, entirely covered by a dense mat of filaments which conceal the areolation in that part of the ventral surface of the lamina. Upper cells c.15 microns, subisodiametrical, irregularly angled, smooth, strongly incrassate, narrowly transversely elliptic towards the margin. Cells below larger, subquadrate, pellucid, with thinner walls which are sometimes collenchymatously thickened at the angles. Marginal cells below somewhat transversely lengthened. Seta to 14 mm long, flexuose. Capsule 3.0-3.5 mm long, brown, erect, cylindrical, with the base slightly broadened. Peristome teeth 32, arising from a low basal cylinder. spirally twisted to the left. Operculum narrowly conical, suberect, about 1/3 the length of the capsule.

Fruiting

Although fruit has been seen insufficient information exists to provide any details on the timing of fruiting

Threats

Not Threatened. Known in New Zealand from only a few small populations which do not appear to be under any threat. The current distribution and ecology of this species suggests that it is a reasonably recent arrival to New Zealand which is why it has been listed as a "vagrant" (see Glenny et al. 2011).

Endemic Taxon

No

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 25 Jul 2014