Tong Cao

Air quality for metals and sulfur in Shanghai, China, determined with moss bags.

In order to better understand the spatial and temporal distribution pattern of metals and sulfur present in Shanghai, moss bags with Haplocladium microphyllum (Hedw.) Broth. were suspended at 14 local monitoring stations from April through June 2006 in Shanghai, the largest city in China. The results showed that the concentrations of S, Cu, Pb, and Zn in the moss bags after exposure were higher at the sites in the industrial district and most urban districts and lower at the sites in suburban areas, and well correlated with SO(2) API and PM10 API in the air both in terms of space and time. The present study provided evidence that the moss H. microphyllum is suitable for bio-monitoring air pollution with moss bags and further confirmed that the moss-bag method is a simple, inexpensive and useful technique.

Successful Tissue Culture of the Medicinal Moss Rhodobryum giganteum and Factors Influencing Proliferation of Its Protonemata

Rhodobryum giganteum is a rare Chinese traditional medicinal moss species and has special therapy value in heart diseases. In the present study, we successfully induced gametophores and protonemata of R. giganteum in vitro from its new shoots, which were disinfected with 0.1% HgCl2, for eight minutes. We also tested the factors influencing the growth of its protonemata and found that: (1) modified Knop medium is able to facilitate the elongation of the protonemata in vitro and prolong their growth time in vitro, whereas MS medium is able to facilitate the branching of the protone mata, and the protonemata grew slowly in modified White medium, accompanied by the development of gametophores; (2) cutting of the protonemata increases protonemal proliferation in vitro; (3) 2,4-D facilitates the induction of protonemata from leaves at 0.5 mgl-1, but inhibits the induction and quickens the aging process of the protonemata at 2.0 mgl-1.

The Genus Saccogynidium (Geocalycaceae, Hepaticae) in China

Abstract Three species of Saccogynidium Grolle (Geocalycaceae, Hepaticae) are recognized in China. Saccogynidium rigidulum (Nees) Grolle and S. muricellum (De Not.) Grolle are confirmed from Taiwan, and S. irregularospinum Gao, Cao, & Lai from Tibet and Taiwan is described as new to science. A key to Chinese species of Saccogynidium and illustrations of each species are presented.

Neurolejeunea fukiensis belongs to Cheilolejeunea (Lejeuneaceae, Hepaticae)

Neurolejeunea fukiensis was hitherto the only species of Neurolejeunea found in China and the whole of Asia. It is here transferred to Cheilolejeunea, primarily on account of the following diagnostic features: a narrow stem (its ventral merophytes 2 cells wide), very shortly bifid to emarginate underleaves, the absence of ocelli, an elongate second tooth and obsolete first tooth of the leaf lobule, and a distal hyaline papilla. By this transfer, Neurolejeunea becomes a New World genus.

North American-East Asian similarities in the Genus Ptychomitrium (Bryopsida)

A common species in eastern Asia, Ptychomitrium polyphylloides (C. Miill.) Jaeg. is synonymous with P. gardneri Lesq. from western North America. Ptychomitrium leibergii Best, from North America, is synonymous with P. sinense (Mitt.) Jaeg., which is widespread in eastern Asia. Both P. sinense and P. gardneri have disjunct East Asian-North American distributions. These two species are nearly sympatric in eastern Asia, but one occurs in dry forests of western North America while the other is confined to dry areas of south-central North America. During a revisionary study of Chinese Ptychomi- trium, we discovered that two common species of the genus in East Asia-P. sinense (Mitt.) Jaeg. and P. polyphylloides (C. Miill.) Jaeg.-are identical to P. leibergii Best and P. gardneri Lesq., respectively, both described from western North America. Pty- chomitrium leibergii, described by Best in 1906, is synonymous with P. sinense (based on Glyphomi- trium sinense Mitten 1865), while P. polyphylloides (based on Brachysteleum polyphylloides C. Miill.) is synonymous with P. gardneri, described by Les- quereux. These synonyms have important nomen- clatural consequences and also markedly expand the distributional range of these two species.

Taxonomic and morphometric comments on Macromitrium tosae Besch. (Orthotrichaceae), with its four new synonyms

Abstract Macromitrium tosae Besch. and M. cavaleriei Cardot & Thér. are two taxa that are poorly discriminated from one another, and M. melanostomum Paris & Broth., M. courtoisii Broth. & Paris, M. cylindrothecium Nog. and M. chungkingense P. C. Chen are four little known species. Cluster and Principle Component Analyses were applied to evaluate the morphological distinctiveness of these species based on 27 character indices of leaf morphology from ten type specimens and 17 other specimens. Macromitrium cylindrothecium, M. chungkingense, M. courtoisi and M. melanostomum are not unambiguously distinct from M. tosae and should therefore be considered conspecific. Macromitrium tosae, a common species in China, differs, however, from M. cavaleriei by shorter, lingulate, apiculate branch leaves with obtuse apices and distinctly pluri–papillose laminal cells, and its inner perichaetial leaves with acuminate or short acuminate apices.

Development of microsatellite markers for the moss Ptychomitrium gardneri (Ptychomitriaceae)

UNLABELLED PREMISE OF THE STUDY Microsatellite markers were developed for Ptychomitrium gardneri to study population genetics of this eastern Asian-North American disjunct moss. • METHODS AND RESULTS A total of 13 microsatellite markers were developed in Chinese populations of P. gardneri, using the Fast Isolation by AFLP of Sequences COntaining Repeats protocol. Eight of the markers showed polymorphism when assessed in a sample of four populations of 29 individuals from China. These markers amplified three to four alleles per locus. Five primers also amplified in P. linearifolium and P. wilsonii. • CONCLUSIONS These markers may be useful for further investigation of population genetics of P. gardneri.

A new species and three new records of Heteroscyphus (Jungermanniopsida: Geocalycaceae) to China

Abstract Heteroscyphus spiniferus Gao, Cao et Wu from China is described as a species new to science. This new species is similar to H. wettsteini (Schiffn.) Schiffn., but differs in having: (1) the underleaves deeply 2-lobed, up to 2/3 of the length; (2) leaf margins with long cilia throughout; and (3) leaf cells thin-walled and without trigones. Three other species of Heteroscyphus are reported as new records to China from Taiwan; these are Heteroscyphus acutangulus (Schiffn.) Schiffn., H. tridentatus (Sande Lac) Grolle and H. turgidus (Schiffn.) Schiffn. A description and illustration are provided for each species.

Taxonomic assessment of Ptychomitrium lepidomitrium and P-tortula (Bryopsida, Ptychomitriaceae)

Abstract Ptychomitrium tortula (Harv.) A.Jaeger, P. lepidomitrium (C.Muell.) Schimp., P. rhacomitrioides Dixon and P. lindigii (Hampe) Jaeg. are similar in morphology by having scabrous calyptrae, sinuous basal leaf cells and crisped and contorted dry leaves. Studies of the type specimens of these species indicated that P. rhacomitrioides and P. lindigii are synonymous with P. tortula and P. lepidomitrium, respectively. Comparisons of the morphological features and distribution in detail showed that P. tortula and P. lepidomitrium are two distinctive species with geographical disjunction between Asia and Central and South America.

Ptychomitrium mamillosum (Ptychomitriaceae, Musci), a new species from China

According to the Index· Muscorum (Wijk, Margadant & Florschtz, 1967,1969) and Index of Mosses 1963-1989 (Crosby, Magill & Bauer, 1992), there are about 140 species recorded in the genus Ptychomitrium in the world. The genus Ptychomitrium in China has been studied and revised by Cao & Vitt (1994) and Cao, Gao & Vitt (1995). In the course of our revisional study of Ptychomitrium in the world, we found that a specimen previously identified as Ptychomitrium gardneri Lesq. from southwest China is uniquely characterized by having toothed leaves with upper and middle leaf cells conspicuously bulging on the upper surface. It is described and illustrated as a species new to science here.