Rhodobryum giganteum Paris, 1898;
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Plants dark greenish-brown, large and robust; stem stoloniferous, branched by subfloral innovations; leaves at upper forming rosettes of large crown, spreading, spathulate from a narrow base, 15 x 2.5 mm, bordered by two layers of elongated cells, teeth in pairs, lower leaves distant, scale-like; costa strong, excurrent, stout below; cells rhomboidal at upper, thin walled, 80-100 x 15-20 µm, basal cells elongate to rectangular, 85-100 x 15-22 µm; seta long, up to 5 cm long, usually more than one arises from the same perichaetium; capsule horizontal to pendulous, reddish below, 1 mm long; spores rounded, 12-16 µm diagonally.
Mostly on wet rocks, humus rich soils and logs near streams in shola forests.
South India (Tamil Nadu, Kerala), North-east India (Darjeeling, Khasi hills, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Sikkim), Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Nepal, Madagascar, Sumatra, Java, Myanmar, Thailand and Oceanic Islands.
(Attributions: Nair, M.C., K.P. Rajesh and Madhusoodanan P.V. 2005. Bryophytes of Wayanad in Western Ghats. Malabar Natural History Society, Kozhikode, i-iv + 284pp. as per India Biodiversity Portal)
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SK 3878 18 October 2023 – Bryophytres: 4 very high res. images.
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References:
Catalogue of Life myhomenature India Biodiversity Portal
