''Ambuchanania leucobryoides'' is the only species in the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

genus ''Ambuchanania''. It is a ''

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 is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...

''-like moss endemic to

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. 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 The Tasmanian Herbarium is a herbarium in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Its Index Herbariorum code is HO. It is a part of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. The earliest plant samples in the herbarium's collection date from early European ex ...

in Hobart, (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 ter ...

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 ...

. 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 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