Prionodon densus (Hedw.) C. Muell. (Musci) in northwestern Argentina and its phenotypical diversity in the Neotropic

Abstract

Prionodon (Prionodontaceae) is a generally epiphytic genus with a marked variation as to size and type of growth of the gametophyte. Sporophytes are rare and the gametophyte exhibits both primary and secondary shoots with big folded leaves, a robust nerve, a toothed margin and thick-walled, unipapillose cells.

In the Neotropic this genus is represented by six species only one of which has been recently recorded for northeastern Argentina, P. densus (Hedw.) C. Muell., the most polymorphous species. In this paper its ditribution area is widened for the Argentinian Northwest which has significant ecological characteristics.

From the comparative study of samples from nearly all the Latinamerican distribution range we could evaluate the phenotypical diversity with regard to growth type and leaves size and shape which together with the observations of leaf papillae in three species under the ligth and scanning microscopes are an original contribution to their delimitation.