Hollia myrmecoa

Detailed description

Corticolous, medium-sized, densely clustered, glossy, pale to medium green, drying pale grey-green or brownish with straw-like texture. Stems red-brown, thin, creeping, to 50 mm long; branches erect, robust, dense, to 15 mm long; apex tight with a conical appearance. Branch leaves whorled, imbricate to slightly spreading to patent when dry, spreading at 45 degrees when moist, 1.5–1.7 × 0.56–0.92 mm, ovate to lanceolate, concave, acute, ecostate; base cordate; margin incurved near apex, entire; laminal cells thick-walled, lacking papillae, rhomboidal to linear-rhomboidal; apical cells variable, c. 24–34 × 8 µm; medial cells sigmoid, 32–50 × 6–8 µm, unbordered; alar cells conspicuous, orange in a basal band, 5–8 cells high; cells variable, ± quadrate, c. 20 µm wide, more rectangular at margin, thick-walled; basal cells between alar cells rectangular, c. 50 × 6 µm, ± porose and sinuose, yellow-brown across base. Stem leaves sparse, ovate to oblong-lanceolate, 0.48–0.88 × 0.21–0.49 mm; alar cells not as well developed; laminal cells narrower, ± sigmoid. Rhizoids sparse but conspicuous on lower stems, wiry, reddish, smooth, to 3 mm long, c. 20 µm wide; branches short; cells to 90 µm long. Dioicous. Male plants perennial, either dwarf or large. Perigonial leaves narrowly ovate-lanceolate. Perichaetial leaves long-linear to oblong-lanceolate, c. 10.0 × 1.2 mm, obtuse to acute, ecostate; 2–4 conspicuously long perichaetial leaves at base of capsule sheathing seta, remainder shorter; base straight; margin entire; laminal cells linear, thick-walled; upper cells c.40 × 8 µm, slightly sigmoid; medial cells similar, less sigmoid; basal cells c. 100–160 µm long, porose, yellow-orange across base. Calyptra 4.0–4.5 mm long, cucullate, yellow to pale red-brown, smooth. Seta 5–12 mm long, terminal, reddish. Capsule 3.0 × 0.6 mm, solitary, red, erect or suberect (cylindrical or asymmetrical, respectively), smooth. Operculum to 1.6 mm long, slender, obliquely rostrate. Peristome single, reddish; teeth 16, 280–550 × 120 µm, broadly lanceolate, inserted below capsule mouth on short basal membrane, densely papillose on both sides; cells horizontally rectangular; medial lines straight. Spores large, 100–190 µm.