Studies on Colombian cryptograms XVII. On a new antipodal element in the neotropical páramos – Dendrocryphaea latifolia sp.nov. (Musci)

Dendrocryphaea latifolia sp.nov. from the Paramo de Chisaca, Colombia is described and illustrated. It is allied to D. cuspidata from austral South America but differs from that species in the broader leaves, globose capsules and the basally smooth exostome teeth. A key to the four species of Dendrocryphaea and a conspectus of the genus are provided. D. ramosissima is reduced to synonymy under D. lechleri. Dendrocryphaea is a rheophytic genus with antipodal distribution. Its discovery in the high Andes of Colombia extends to 34 the number of genera of bryophytes with similar antipodal affinities known from the paramos of the northern sector of the Andean cordillera. The nature and origin of these distribution patterns is discussed. In the case of Dendrocryphaea wind and birds may have played a role in the transport of spores and the establishment of its present distribution.