Guide to Liverworts of Oregon: Anastrophyllum sphenoloboides R.M. Schust.
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Synonym: None.
Special status: ORBIC List 2
Recognition: Small plants (ca. 1 mm or less wide) with bilobed leaves, + or - like Cephalozia, Cephaloziella, small Marsupella, Lophozia or Nardia. Usually brown, golden-brown, occasionally dark-green. Leaves transversely inserted (vs. Cephalozia & most Nardia; Lophozia). Differs from all these in the oil bodies usually more than 3 per cell, botryoidal, consisting of dstinct, small spherules. Gemmae frequent, bright red.
Distribution: Previously known from Alaska (Damsholt 2002), has been found on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington State (DHW m1129a). It has bulging trigones and elongated basal leaf cells. The Marion County (B. Jonsson 483B/94, OSC; Wagner m2567) records will be treated as Anastrophyllum sphenoloboides R.M. Schuster. Likewise, a Lane County record from near Cougar Reservoir (Kofranek 6002A) originally reported as Anastrophyllum minutum is Anastrophyllum sphenoloboides.
Comments: The best character for separating the look alikes from Anastrophyllum is the arrangement of cells in the leaf lobes. These are in distinct, concentric rows radiating from the lobe tips, a feature first noted in A. minutum by Paton (1999).
Anastrophyllum sphenoloboides. Shoot tip with gemmae. Opal Creek, Marion County, Oregon. DHW m2567.
Anastrophyllum sphenoloboides. Leaf. Opal Creek, Marion County, Oregon. DHW m2567.
Anastrophyllum sphenoloboides. Leaf lobe tip. Opal Creek, Marion County, Oregon. DHW m2567.
Anastrophyllum sphenoloboides. Cuticle. Opal Creek, Marion County, Oregon. DHW m2567.
Anastrophyllum sphenoloboides. Oil bodies. Opal Creek, Marion County, Oregon. DHW m2567.
Anastrophyllum sphenoloboides. Shoot, dorsal aspect. Goodman Creek, Jefferson County, Washington. DHW mm1129a.
Anastrophyllum sphenoloboides. Leaf. Goodman Creek, Jefferson County, Washington. DHW mm1129a.
Anastrophyllum sphenoloboides. Leaf lobe. Goodman Creek, Jefferson County, Washington. DHW mm1129a.
Anastrophyllum sphenoloboides. Median leaf cells with oil bodies. Goodman Creek, Jefferson County, Washington. DHW mm1129a.
Anastrophyllum sphenoloboides. Basal leaf cells with oil bodies. Goodman Creek, Jefferson County, Washington. DHW mm1129a.