Neoharaldiophyllum J.C. Kang et M.S. Kim, 2017

Neoharaldiophyllum J.C. Kang et M.S. Kim View in CoL gen. nov.

Plant epilithic or epiphytic, erect and lobed, attached by small disc often with several stolons; thalli flat and membranous with a cylindrical stipe; blades broad linear to obovate often deeply cleft or subdichotomously divided, margins undulate and entire or denticulate with multicellular spines, midrib and microscopic veins absent but basal subdichotomous or flabellate nerves present; upper blade monostromatic and lower blade polystromatic; in cross-sections of polystromatic portion, similar-sized isometric rectangular cells arranged in horizontal tiers in vertical rows; cortical cells polygonal with numerous small discoid chloroplasts. Growth by means of diffuse marginal meristems or a transversely (often obliquely) dividing apical cell, with intercalary cell divisions. Gametophyte dioecious. Cystocarps scattered on both surfaces of blade; procarp initiated by a pair of pericentral cells cut off from a fertile central cell perpendicular to the axis of the growing thallus, the anterior pericentral cell becomes a cover-cell group and the posterior one functions as a supporting cell; mature procarp consisting of a supporting cell, a four-celled carpogonial branch, a single-celled first sterile-cell group, a one- to two-celled second sterile-cell group and an anterior cover-cell group; a fusion cell derived by cell fusion of a supporting cell, both sterile-cell groups, and an auxiliary cell during early development of cystocarp; the primary gonimoblast filaments extend by cell divisions along the floor cells of the cystocarp cavity and incorporate together at the point of contact; singly borne terminal carposporangia formed on highly branched secondary gonimoblast filaments, which are produced from the primary gonimoblast filaments; cystocarp hemispherical with a single ostiole. Spermatangial sori formed in irregular shapes on both sides of upper blade. Tetrasporangial sori scattered on both surfaces of the blade, small round to linear in shape; tetrasporangia spherical and tetrahedrally divided, arranged in two layers, which are clearly separated by a central cell layer.

Etymology

The generic epithet ( Neoharaldiophyllum ) was chosen with the combination of “new” (neo), “Harald” (the first name of Harald Kylin) and “phyllo” (leaf). Harald Kylin was the first to observe the main characteristic of this genus and mentioned the likely necessity of the new genus.

Type species