''Ambuchanania leucobryoides'' is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Ambuchanania''. It is a '' Sphagnum''-like moss endemic to Tasmania. Originally described as a species of ''Sphagnum'', it is now a separate genus named after the original collector Alex M. Buchanan, (b.1944) an Australian botanist from the Tasmanian Herbarium in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smalle ...

, (it was first collected in 1987). ''A. leucobryoides'' differs from the family

Sphagnaceae The Sphagnaceae is a family of moss with only one living genus ''Sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term ...

in having elongate

antheridia An antheridium is a haploid structure or organ producing and containing male gametes (called ''antherozoids'' or sperm). The plural form is antheridia, and a structure containing one or more antheridia is called an androecium. Androecium is also t ...

. It is entirely restricted to south-west Tasmania's Wilderness World Heritage Area where it occurs on white Precambrian quartzitic sand deposited by alluvial flows, and on margins of buttongrass (''

Gymnoschoenus sphaerocephalus ''Gymnoschoenus sphaerocephalus'', commonly known as buttongrass, is a species of tussock-forming sedge from southeastern Australia. It forms part of a unique habitat in Tasmania. It was originally described as ''Chaetospora sphaerocephala'' by ...

'') sedge land. Species most commonly found in association with ''A. leucobryoides'' include: '' Leptocarpus tenax'', '' Chordifex hookeri'', and '' Actinotus suffocatus''. Currently, ''A. leucobryoides'' is listed as rare under the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995.

Description

Mature plants are small, pale brown or whitish green when dry. The stems are approximately 2 cm long, and are irregularly and sparsely branched. Leaves on the stem have a broadly lanceolate shape 3.6-4.3 mm long.

Spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, ...

capsules are whitish-yellow and globose, atop a seta (stalk) that is 1.2 cm long.

References

* Johnson, K.A., Whinam, J., Buchanan, A.M. & Balmer, J. (2008) Ecological observations and new locations of a rare moss, ''Ambuchanania leucobryoides'' (Ambuchananiaceae). ''Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania''. 142 (2): 79–84. * Shaw, A. Jonathan, 2000. Phylogeny of the Sphagnopsida Based on Chloroplast and Nuclear DNA Sequence

''The Bryologist'' 103 (2): 277–306. * Shaw, A. Jonathan, Cymon J. Cox & Sandra B. Boles (2003) Polarity of peatmoss (''Sphagnum'') evolution: who says bryophytes have no roots

''American Journal of Botany'' 90: 1777–1787.

External links

Sphagnales Monotypic moss genera {{Bryophyte-stub