''Folioceros'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

hornwort Hornworts are a group of non-vascular Embryophytes (land plants) constituting the division Anthocerotophyta (). The common name refers to the elongated horn-like structure, which is the sporophyte. As in mosses and liverworts, hornworts have a ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Anthocerotaceae The Anthocerotaceae is the only family of hornwort Hornworts are a group of non-vascular Embryophytes (land plants) constituting the division Anthocerotophyta (). The common name refers to the elongated horn-like structure, which is the sporo ...

. The genus is common locally in the tropical and subtropical regions of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, growing on moist rocks, in fallow fields, and near

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

s. It has a yellow-green

gametophyte A gametophyte () is one of the two alternation of generations, alternating multicellular organism, multicellular phases in the life cycles of plants and algae. It is a haploid multicellular organism that develops from a haploid spore that has on ...

thallus Thallus (plural: thalli), from Latinized Greek (), meaning "a green shoot" or "twig", is the vegetative tissue of some organisms in diverse groups such as algae, fungi, some liverworts, lichens, and the Myxogastria. Many of these organisms wer ...

that is crispy and translucent, with short branchings that are almost

pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...

. Plants are usually less than a centimeter wide and 3 centimeters long. They may be

monoicous Monoicy () is a sexual system in haploid plants (mainly bryophytes) where both sperm and eggs are produced on the same gametophyte, in contrast with dioicy, where each gametophyte produces only sperm or eggs but never both.Crandall-Stotler, B.J. ...

dioicous Dioicy () is a sexual system where archegonia and antheridia are produced on separate gametophytes. It is one of the two main sexual systems in bryophytes. Both dioicous () and monoicous gametophytes produce gametes in gametangia by mitosis rathe ...

. The genus ''Folioceros'' was formally diagnosed by the botanist D. C. Bharadwaj and based on the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

'' F. assamicus''. Some features that he cited as distinguishing the genus were: * Pseudoelaters less than 7 um wide and more than 300 um 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, f ...

ornamentation that is spinose or baculate, rather than

reticulate Reticulation is a net-like pattern, arrangement, or structure. Reticulation or Reticulated may refer to: * Reticulation (single-access key), a structure of an identification tree, where there are several possible routes to a correct identificatio ...

. * Thallus with large cavities formed by splitting of the internal tissue. The classification system of Hässel de Menendez places ''Folioceros'' in its own family Foliocerotaceae and order Foliocerotales. This classification is based on a cladistic morphological analysis, but has not been generally accepted or supported by additional research in the literature. For the present, ''Folioceros'' is usually placed in the

References

* Asthana, A. K. & Srivastava, S. C. (1991). ''Indian Hornworts (A Taxonomic Study)''. J. Cramer: ''Bryophytorum Bibliotheca'', Band 42. . * Zhu, R. L. & So, M. L. (1996). ''Mosses and Liverworts of Hong Kong'', volume 2. Hong Kong: Heavenly People Depot. .

External links

Images of Folioceros
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5464395 Hornworts Bryophyte genera