Ochiobryum J.R.Spence & H.P.Ramsay

For a full description for the genus, see Spence & Ramsay (2006). For the purposes of Ochiobryum in New Zealand, the description for Ochiobryum blandum is given here as a description for the genus.

Plants dark or pale green, bronze, or cerise, often dirty, sometimes nearly black in portions, usually lustrous, forming loose cushions in flowing water. Stems pink, dark red to nearly black in lower portions, c. 10–80 mm (rarely longer), often forked, sparsely beset below with dark red-brown and nearly smooth rhizoids, in cross-section with firm-walled cortical cells and central strand weak or absent. Leaves evenly spaced on stem, erect and imbricate or erect-spreading when moist, contorted when dry, oblong-ovate, broadly obtuse or rounded and often ± cucullate at apex, 0.7–2.0 mm, strongly concave, usually cerise near insertion or throughout, entire or weakly crenulate above, weakly bordered and plane at margins, not decurrent; upper laminal cells narrowly hexagonal or rhomboid, thin-walled, 5–7:1 and c. (54–)66–90(–105) µm long, becoming shorter and firmer-walled near apex, and longer (to c. 180 µm) towards insertion; marginal cells linear and ± firmer-walled to form a weak border c. 5–6 cells wide and extending above mid leaf; basal cells short, ± oblong in 1–2 rows at base, not markedly pigmented. Costa rather thin, usually ± cerise, subpercurrent. Gemmae absent.

Dioicous. Perichaetia in branch axils, usually near the base shoots, with perichaetial leaves not differentiated. Perigonia terminal or on short, lateral branches, the inner bracts c. 1 mm, broadly oblong-ovate and rounded apically, enclosing numerous antheridia. Setae c. 20–30(–40) mm, red, cygneous just below capsule; capsules uncommon, strongly inclined or pendent, narrowly pyriform, 2.6–4 × 1–1.3 mm, with a well-defined neck nearly ½ the total capsule length and wrinkled when dry; stomata numerous, superficial, restricted to neck; operculum low-conic, not apiculate. Peristome double; exostome teeth pale; endostome with perforate segments equal the teeth, and variably developed but usually rudimentary cilia. Spores variable in diameter, usually (14–)16–22(–36) µm.

Ochiobryum is founded on Bryum blandum Hook.f. & Wilson, a species with a Campbell I. type. The species has been retained in Bryum by Australasian authors since its original description despite its anomalous morphology and habitat preferences relative to other Australasian Bryum spp.

Spence & Ramsay (2005) erected Ochiobryum to recognise the distinctive nature of the Campbell I. species. They later (Spence & Ramsay 2006) suggested that Ochiobryum may need expansion to accommodate up to three additional foreign (to Australia) species and (p. 320) characterised Ochiobryum as having “frequently complanate foliation, shiny pink to red coloration, elongate, pohlioid laminal areolation with a distinct border, and inclined to pendulous pyriforme capsules with complete peristomes and small spores”.

Ochiobryum seems best transferred to the Mielichhoferiaceae, for reasons discussed above.

No generic description is provided here, but one is available in Spence & Ramsay (2006).