Species

Riccardia pennata

Common Name(s)

liverwort

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

Authority

Riccardia pennata E.A.Brown

Family

Aneuraceae

Flora Category

Non Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

RICPEN

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Liverwort

Synonyms

None (first described in 1989)

Distribution

Endemic. South Island, Glasgow Range

Features

Dioicous. Thallus flaccid, creeping, pale green. Growth indeterminate, branching simply pinnate to bipinnate with minimal tripinnate development. Thalli c.15 mm long, 760-1428 microns wide. Apices slightly cleft. Mucilage papillae 80 x 25 microns, ventral, either persisting for only a short distance or not at all. Rhizoids ventral, frequently in scattered patches. Stolons absent and gemmae not observed. Axis plano-convex with an acute, winged margins. Thallus 118-150 microns (5-6 cells) thick; cells thin walled to slightly thickened and those of ventral epidermis and sometimes the subepidermis smaller than the dorsal epidermal and internal cells. Winged margin 1 cell thick and typically 3 cells wide, cells tending to be larger than those of the dorsal epidermis, usually lacking oil-bodies and frequently chlorotic. Thallus wing obvious in younger regions of the axis but not always evident in older areas. External epidermal cell walls smooth. Dorsal epidermal cells oblong to hexagonally elongate, 44-69 x 21-29 microns, and 20-26 microns deep. Ventral epidermal cells elongate in the centre of the axis, 44-74 x 10-13 microns but becoming shorter and wider towards wing (34-53 x 12-22 microns). Dorsal subepidermal cells similar in shape to those of dorsal epidermis, 58-111 x 27-40 microns. Ventral subepidermal cells pentagonal to hexagonal, 27-41 x 15-19 microns. Internal cells 15-27 microns deep. Oil-bodies 10-18 x 7-11 microns, absent in epidermis (sometimes present in the marginal wing) and the ventral subepidermis, and frequently in the internal cells. Endophytic mycorrhizae 3-5 microns wide and numerous in the ventral epidermis. Male branches solitary, arising from the main axis or the base of side pinnae in older regions of the thallus, sessile. Antheridial cavities on the dorsal surface in 4-6 pairs separated by 1-3 cells. Female branches solitary, towards the apex of the main axis or on actively growing side branches, bearing 2-3 pairs of archegonia. Calyptra and sporophyte unknown.

Fruiting

Fruits not known

Threats

Not Threatened. Apparently a narrow-range endemic whose only known habitats occur within reserved land protected by the crown.


Attribution

Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (27 August 2006). Description adapted from Brown & Braggins (1989).

References and further reading

Brown, E.A.; Braggins, J.E. 1989: A revision on the genus Riccardia S.F. Gray in New Zealand with notes on the genus Aneura Dum. Journal of the Hattori Botanical Labratory 66: 1-132.

This page last updated on 20 Oct 2014