Dendroceros
| Dendroceros | |
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| Dendroceros sp. Nees growing on the bark of a tree |
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Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Anthocerotophyta |
| Class: | Anthocerotopsida |
| Order: | Dendrocerotales |
| Family: | Dendrocerotaceae |
| Genus: | Dendroceros Nees in Gottsche, Lindenb. & Nees[1] |
| Species | |
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See text. |
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Dendroceros is a genus of hornworts in the family Dendrocerotaceae.[2] The genus contains about 51 species native to tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world.
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[edit] Description
The gametophyte is yellowish-green and usually less than one-half cm wide. The thallus branches in a bifurcating pattern. In the subgenus Apoceros, there are cavities in the central strand of the thallus. The edges of the thallus are only a single layer of cells thick and have an undulating margin. It is common to find symbiotic colonies of blue-green bacteria (usually Nostoc) growing among the cells. Under a microscope, the epidermal cells have trigones.
The sporophyte is erect when mature, growing up to 5 cm tall. Like other hornworts, its surface has stomata. The interior of the sporophyte differentiates into a central column and a surrounding mass of spores and elater cells, with a distinct spiral. The spores are both green and relatively large with an ornamented surface.
[edit] Habitat
Dendroceros grows on humid ground, rocky outcrops, and on the sides of trees. Its name literally means "tree horn".
[edit] References
- ^ Gottsche, C.M.; Lindenberg, J.B.G.; Nees von Esenbeck, C.G. (1846). Synopsis Hepaticarum. p. 579.
- ^ Renzaglia, Karen S. & Kevin C. Vaughn. (2000) "Anatomy, development and classification of hornworts", pages 1-20 in A. Jonathan Shaw & Bernard Goffinet (Eds.), Bryophyte Biology. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). ISBN 0-521-66097-1
[edit] External links
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Wikispecies has information related to: Dendroceros |
