Plagiochila

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Plagiochila
Plagiochila aspleniodes0.jpg
Plagiochila asplenioides
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Marchantiophyta
Class: Jungermanniopsida
Order: Lepidoziales
Family: Plagiochilaceae
Genus: Plagiochila
(Dumort.) Dumort., 1835 nom. cons.
Species

See text

Synonyms
  • Carpolepidium

Plagiochila is a large, common, and widespread genus of liverworts in the order Jungermanniales. [1] It is a member of the family Plagiochilaceae within that order. There may be anywhere from 500 to 1300 species, most of them from the tropics; the exact number is still under revision.

Contents

Biogeography

The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. [2]

There are 9 species of Plagiochila in Britain and Ireland, the majority of which have a hyper-oceanic biogeography, demanding high humidity afforded by proximity to the Atlantic. [3] The most widespread representative of the hyper-oceanic species is Plagiochila spinulosa, a common species of Atlantic woodlands known as temperate rainforest. There is a disjunct population of Plagiochila spinulosa in New Zealand. [4]

Taxonomy

Plagiochila taxonomy is complex and disputed. Certain phylogenetic studies have shown that genetic distinctions between observed species are weak, suggesting recent diversification events. [5] European species have been identified as conspecific or at least closely related to tropical American species, distinct from Asian species. [6]

Selected species

Plagiochila asplenioides Plagiochila asplenioides 060108.jpg
Plagiochila asplenioides

References

  1. Schuster, Rudolf M. (1980). The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America. Vol. IV. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 342–539. ISBN   0-231-04608-1.
  2. "Plagiochila (Dumort.) Dumort". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
  3. "Plagiochila spinulosa". British Bryological Society. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
  4. Renner, Matt A. M.; Heslewood, Margaret M.; Patzak, Simon D. F.; Feldberg, Kathrin; Schäfer-Verwimp, Alfons; Rycroft, David S.; Heinrichs, Jochen (2017-07-03). "The New Zealand endemic Plagiochila caducifolia is a disjunct population of Plagiochila spinulosa (Plagiochilaceae: Jungermanniopsida)". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 55 (3): 276–292. Bibcode:2017NZJB...55..276R. doi:10.1080/0028825x.2017.1318756. ISSN   0028-825X.
  5. Heinrichs, J.; Lindner, M.; Groth, H.; Renker, C. (2005-01-01). "Distribution and synonymy of Plagiochila punctata (Taylor) Taylor, with hypotheses on the evolutionary history of Plagiochila sect. Arrectae (Plagiochilaceae, Hepaticae)". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 250 (1): 105–117. Bibcode:2005PSyEv.250..105H. doi:10.1007/s00606-004-0220-5. ISSN   1615-6110.
  6. Groth, Henk; Lindner, Melanie; Wilson, Rosemary; Hartmann, Florian A.; Schmull, Michaela; Rob Gradstein, S.; Heinrichs, Jochen (2003). "Biogeography of Plagiochila (Hepaticae): natural species groups span several floristic kingdoms". Journal of Biogeography. 30 (7): 965–978. Bibcode:2003JBiog..30..965G. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2699.2003.00916.x. ISSN   1365-2699.