Class
Family
Classification
Subordinate Taxa
Nomenclature
Scientific Name:
Leratia Broth. & Paris in Brotherus, Öfvers. Finska Vetensk.-Soc. Förh. 51A(17): 14 (1909)
Synonymy:
- = Zygodon sect. Obtusifolii Malta, Latv. Univ. Raksti 6: 282 (1923)
- = Bryomaltaea Goffinet in Goffinet & Vitt, Bryol. Twenty-first Cent., 151 (1998)
Type Taxon:
Leratia neocaldonica Broth. & Paris
Etymology:
Taxonomy
Leratia is a small genus with a New Caledonian type, considered by Goffinet et al. (2004) to encompass three geographically disparate species. Because no material of the New Caledonian type has been available for study, no attempt is made to supply a description of the genus here. Brotherus (1925, p. 27–28) provided a detailed description and illustration of the type species (cited as Leratiella neocaledonica). A description of only the single N.Z. species is given here.
A commentary on Leratia is provided by Goffinet & Vitt (1998, p. 151), who at that time considered it to be monotypic, but who also noted many similarities to what they then termed Bryomaltaea obtusifolia (Hook.) Goffinet. Bryomaltaea is here considered a heterotypic synonym. Although Leratia neocaledonica is the type of the genus Leratia, the genus Bryomaltaea is typified by Zygodon obtusifolius Hook., which is founded on a Nepalese collection by Gardner, and not a N.Z. collection by Knight, as suggested by Goffinet.
The lamina-like cells on the abaxial surface of the costae and the lack of differentiated basal cells are significant defining features of Leratia. Goffinet et al. (2004), using data from four gene loci, convincingly demonstrated that the New Caledonian type, the Asian and Australasian L. obtusifolia, and the predominantly North American L. exigua (Sull.) Goffinet [Orthotrichum exiguum Sull.] belong to an isolated and strongly supported clade, to which they applied the generic name Leratia. Their taxonomic and nomenclatural conclusions are followed here, representing a departure from the treatment of Zygodon presented by Lewinsky (1990).
Biostatus
Indigenous (Non-endemic)
| Category | Number |
|---|---|
| Indigenous (Non-endemic) | 1 |
| Total | 1 |
Bibliography
Brotherus, V.F. 1909 ("1908–1909"): Contribution à la flore bryologique de la Nouvelle Calédonie II. Öfversigt af Finska Vetenskaps-Societetens Förhandlingar 51A(17): 1–31.
Brotherus, V.F. 1925: Musci (Laubmoose). In: Engler, A. (ed.) Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien. Edition 2. Bd 11. Engelmann, Leipzig. 1–542.
Calabrese, G.M. 2006: A taxonomic revision of Zygodon (Orthotrichaceae) in southern South America. Bryologist 109: 453–509. [as Bryomaltaea Goffinet]
Fife, A.J. 2017: Orthotrichaceae. In: Breitwieser, I.; Wilton, A.D. (ed.) Flora of New Zealand – Mosses. Fascicle 31. Manaaki Whenua Press, Lincoln.
Goffinet, B.; Buck, W.R.; Shaw, A.J. 2009: Morphology, anatomy, and classification of the Bryophyta. In: Goffinet, B.; Shaw, A.J. (ed.) Bryophyte Biology. Edition 2. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 55–138.
Goffinet, B.; Shaw, A.J.; Cox, C.J.; Wickett, N.J.; Boles, S.B. 2004: Phylogenetic inferences in the Orthotrichoideae (Orthotrichaceae, Bryophyta) based on variation in four loci from all genomes. In: Hollowell, V.B (ed.) Molecular Systematics of Bryophytes. Vol. 98. In: Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden. 270–289.
Goffinet, B.; Vitt, D.H. 1998: Revised generic classification of the Orthotrichaceae based on a molecular phylogeny and comparative morphology. In: Bates, J.W., Ashton, N.W.; Duckett, J.G. (ed.) Bryology for the Twenty-First Century. Maney Publishing and British Byological Society, Leeds. 143–159.
Lewinsky, J. 1990: Zygodon Hook. & Tayl. in Australasia: a taxonomic revision including SEM-studies of peristomes. Lindbergia 15: 109–139.
Malta, N. 1923: Studien über die Laubmoosgattung Zygodon Hook. et Tayl. (5-9). Latvijas Universitates Raksti 6: 273–295.
