喜马拉雅曲尾藓

Plants medium-sized to large, up to 4 cm high, dull green or yellowish green, shiny, in dense tufts. Stems erect, reddish brown, simple or dichotomously branched, densely foliate. Leaves ca. 10 mm × 1.0–1.2 mm, slightly flexuose when dry, falcate-secund, homomallous when moist, lanceolate, gradually narrowed to a long, canaliculate acumen; margins plane, usually entire throughout, or slightly serrulate near the apex; costa slender, brownish, percurrent, smooth at the back; upper cells elongate, rhomboidal to rounded rectangular, thick-walled, porose; basal cells similar to upper cells, but broader, 45–55 µm × 15–18 µm, strongly thick-walled, porose; alar cells inflated, not bulging, thick-walled, bi- to tristratose, deeply reddish brown at margins, hyaline near the costa. Dioicous. Inner perichaetial leaves high convolute-sheathing at base, suddenly narrowed to a short, hairpoint. Setae single, straight, up to 1.8 cm long, brownish, curved in the upper part; capsules erect or slightly inclined, oblong-ovoid, ca. 3.5 mm × 1.3 mm, reddish brown; opercula conic-rostrate, ca. half as long as the urns; peristome teeth divided to the middle, papillose above, vertically striolate below, reddish brown. Spores 18–20 µm in diameter, brownish, papillose.

Syntypes. India: Sikkim, J. D. Hooker 71, 71b, 88.

Chinese specimens examined: SICHUAN: Ba-tang Co., S. He 31369 (MO, PE); Dao-cheng Co., S. He 31836 (MO, PE), M.-Z. Wang 814072 (p) (IFSBH, PE); Mu-li Co., C. Gao et al. 20909 (IFSBH); Tian-quan Co., C. Gao 17797 (IFSBH); Xiang-cheng Co., S. He 31809 (MO, PE). XIZANG: Cha-yu Co., M.-Z. Wang 8700 (IFSBH); Dian-jie Co., Z.-C. Ni 101 (IFSBH, PE); Mi-lin Co., Y.-G. Su 5301 (IFSBH, KUN); Ya-dong Co., M. Zang 391 (KUN). YUNNAN: Gong-shan Co., M.-Z. Wang 12645(e) (IFSBH, PE).

Habitat: on bases of trees, or soil and rocks; Distribution: China, Bhutan, Nepal, and India.

Illustrations: Pl. 42, figs. 9–17.