Vol. 35 



BULLETIN 



No 4 



OF THE 



TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB 



APRIL, 1908 



Hepaticae of Puerto Rico 



IX. BRACHIOLEJEUNEA, PTYCHOCOLEUS, ARCHILEJEUNEA, LEUCOLE- 



JEUNEA, AND ANOPLOLEJEUNEA 



Alexander William Evans 

 (with plates 6-8) 



BRACHIOLEJEUNEA 



The genus BracJiiolejcunea includes between twenty and thirty 

 recognized species. About half of these are American, the others 

 being found in eastern Asia or among the islands of the Pacific. 

 No species has as yet been reported from Africa. Although essen- 

 tially tropical in its distribution, the genus reaches its northern 

 limits in Florida and Japan and its southern in Australia and Pata- 

 gonia. Since the first species described by Spruce is B. laxifolia 

 (Tayl.) Schififn., this may be considered the type of the genus. It 

 was originally described from specimens collected by Jameson in 

 Ecuador but is now known also from Bolivia. 



With scarcely an exception the species of BracJiiolejcunea are 

 found on trees or on rotten logs. In many cases they grow mixed 

 with other Lejeuneae or with Fridlaniae but they sometimes form 

 extensive mats by themselves. The plants are usually more or 

 less pigmented and often appear very dark brown or nearly black, 

 with little or no indication of glossiness. The prostrate stems 

 cling closely to the substratum by means of numerous rhizoids, 

 which take their origin from rudimentary discs at the bases of the 

 underleaves. The branching is at first irregularly pinnate, but the 

 female plants after flowering usually exhibit a false dichotomy 



Mat 



Th 



In dry 



[The Bulletin for March, 1908 (35 : 97-154,/'- '-/)• was issued 2 ° A P ^oS.] 



155 



